Former Illini DC Ryan Walters fired at Purdue

Former Illini defensive coordinator, Ryan Walters, has officially been fired as the head coach for the Purdue Boilermakers. Walters, a former Illini defensive coordinator for two years, went 5-19 overall and 3-15 in Big Ten play, including 10 straight losses and zero Big Ten wins this season. It is certainly an unfortunate fall from success, as Walters was largely known as a rising star in the business prior to taking the job at Purdue. Ryan Walters completely turned around the Illini defense, which was previously historically bad under former head coach Lovie Smith. Walters was the catalyst behind one of the best defenses in college football and was instrumental in helping guys like Devon Witherspoon, Sydney Brown, and Quan Martin reach their potential and land in the NFL.

When Walters took the job at Purdue, many in Champaign were very happy for him. However, a lot of issues transpired that have burned down any goodwill between Walters and the Illini fanbase.

A lot of petty work

When Illinois played Purdue this year at Memorial Stadium, Walters’ team ran onto the field in the middle of the 3-in-1 performance by the Marching Illini. On top of that, players actually ran into some Marching Illini members and threw their rhythm off. Also, there have been many stories about Walters on the recruiting trail. Hudson Card was a huge target for the Illini after Tommy DeVito left. However, Walters actually picked up Card from his visit to Champaign to take him to West Lafayette. Also, wide receiver Jayden Dixon-Veal was a strong Illinois lean, however, Purdue came in at the very last minute and poached him away from Champaign.

Then what happened? pic.twitter.com/T6msCmctVf

— Bob Zuppke (@BobZuppke) December 1, 2024

Luckily, neither Card nor Dixon-Veal have made much of an impact in college football. However, that is certainly not handling a new gig with grace.

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