Ryan Walters: 'I felt I can win a championship with these people'

Ryan Walters is cruising east on I-74. It is Sunday, and he is on his way to interview to be the Purdue head coach.

Walters’ destination: Mount Comfort Airport in Greenfield, Ind., about 20 miles east of Indianapolis off I-70 on the western edge of Hancock County. Waiting for Walters is Purdue AD Mike Bobinski, deputy AD Tiffini Grimes and board of trustees chairman Mike Berghoff.

Walters is decked out in black pants with a black collared shirt and 3/4 zip pullover sweater as he zooms by interstate mile markers in his black Mercedes.

The wheels on the Purdue coaching search are spinning fast as Purdue narrows its top candidates to replace Jeff Brohm. Time is of the essence. It’s December 11. Signing Day looms. This all has come together quickly for Walters, the rising star Illinois defensive coordinator.

“Brohm leaves,” says Walters. “It think it was on a Wednesday.”

That’s when Walters’ phone rings. It’s Alex Hammond, his agent at Athletes First.

“He asks if I was interested,” says Walters. “And I’m like, ‘Heck yeah.’ “

Walters has become one of the nation’s hottest commodities, a thirtysomething defensive savant coming off a masterpiece season at Illinois that saw the unit he coordinates rank among the nation’s best in several categories.

“I know the conference,” he says. “I know how to stop people on this side (Big Ten West), especially. The only team that we would kind of go back and forth with was Purdue. And so I’m like, ‘Yeah.’

“I didn’t know anything about facilities. Nothing about the town. I knew the academics were good and Drew Brees played here and that was about it. I don’t even know how close it was to Illinois.”

On Monday, December 5, news breaks that Louisville coach Scott Satterfield is leaving to take the Cincinnati job. Is Brohm going to take the job at his alma mater? The one he almost bolted for after the 2018 season?

That specter makes for an awkward press conference that morning in Mackey Arena, where Brohm and Bobinski uncomfortably sit to discuss the Boilermakers’ bid to the Citrus Bowl to play LSU.

Bobinski does what he can to keep the press conference focused on the bowl, but he understands the circumstances. Brohm meets Bobinski in the AD’s office immediately after the press conference. He needs to know: Is Brohm leaving?

It becomes a fait accompli two days later on Wednesday, December 7, when news breaks that Brohm is headed home. Bobinski springs into action. The search is on. It is a tight, committed circle, with Bobinski leaning on Grimes, Berghoff and a search firm. That’s it.

Walters quickly emerges as the front-runner.

“I had a plan for this level of program,” he says.

Walters gets a phone call Thursday morning. Can he do a Zoom call with Bobinski, Grimes and the search firm?

“Absolutely,” he says.

The Zoom goes smashingly on Friday. The parties talk for an hour or so. For Walters, it is a blur.

How will Walters’ recruit?

What’s his background?

How does he plan to win?

The questions roll on …

Walters feels good with the exchange after he leaves

“I’m actually more attracted to that job,” says Walters.

But some close to him caution the rising young coach to be careful. Does he really want the Purdue job?

“There were a couple people that were like, ‘Are you sure you want to take it if you get offered?’ he says. “Some felt after this next cycle of coaching changes that I’d be able to take whatever job I wanted.

“I was like, ‘That doesn’t make any sense. Purdue just played in the Big Ten championship.’ Plus, there are no guarantees we can back up what we just did a year ago (at Illinois). But, there were people trying to convince me not to pursue it.”

Walter’s phone rings again on Saturday: Can he meet on Sunday to do an in-person interview?

“I’m like, ‘Absolutely,’ “ he says.

Walters is off to the aforementioned Indianapolis Regional Airport, where he meets Bobinski, Berghoff, Grimes and the search firm.

“We met in a little conference room,” he says.

This off-the-radar confab goes on for almost three hours. Walters is ready.

“It was crazy because I was so prepared,” he says. “I was over prepared, right? It felt like a game for me. Because, on game days, I’ve got an extended call sheet, but I don’t have it on me. I just see things, I address them. It’s my play sheet, it’s my plan. I don’t need paper.

“I had manila envelope folders full of packets and gave one to each person. I’m like, ‘Don’t let the volume of paperwork overwhelm you. Everything I’m about to talk about is in here for reference when we get out of here.’ “

The Purdue brass is impressed.

“Tiffini was awesome,” says Walters. “Mike was awesome. The whole time, he’s sitting there looking at me. You could tell he was like, ‘I can’t believe this young dude knows what he knows.’ The conversation just felt so fluid, so natural. And their vision for how this place can reach its potential was right in line with mine. I was getting excited during the interview because I felt I can win a championship with these people.”

Three hours later, the interview is finished.

“We end the conversation, we’re walking out to my car, I’m calling my wife and I’m like: ‘If I don’t get this job, I’m gonna be mad.’ And she’s like, ‘Why?’ Because I really want to work with those people. That is the administration that you need to go reach the goals that I want to reach in this profession.”

That night, Walters gets a phone call. It’s his agents.

“They said, ‘I’m not supposed to tell you this, but they sent over terms,’ “ says Walters. “I’m like, ‘Are you serious?’ It’s getting real. They tell me to not pick up the phone for anybody. And then I get a phone call from Bobinski. And he’s like, ‘Do you want the job?’ I say ‘Absolutely. Send the paper, I’ll sign it.’ I didn’t look at anything.”

The first person Walters calls: His father.

Purdue picks up Walters the next day and shows him the facilities and campus. He’s introduced as head coach the next day.