After getting hired as Purdue football head coach, one of Ryan Walters’ major tasks is hiring an offensive coordinator.
With Walters being the first defensive coach to lead the Boilermakers since Leon Burtnett in the mid-1980s, he will have to hire a coach to run Purdue’s offense. The task is not simple as Purdue has a tradition of high-powered and entertaining offenses, often led by a star quarterback, a reputation made popular by coaches like Joe Tiller and Jeff Brohm.
Athletic Director Mike Bobinski addressed fans’ concerns that hiring a defensive coach would lead to a boring offense while he introduced Walters.
“By the way, I think we still intend to play offense,” Bobinksi said. “We’re not just going to go three-and-out and go back to playing defense for 60 minutes. We’re going to play some real offense here. We know that’s exciting. We know our fans love it.”
Video of Ryan Walters and Mike Bobinski's press conference: https://t.co/keRBkqSCMh
— Exponent Sports Desk (@Exponent_Sports) December 14, 2022
Walters, who played safety at Colorado, said he grew up wanting to be a quarterback like his dad and knows it’s “the most important position in sports.”
“One thing that will remain the same here, that will not change, is that we’ll have a cradle of quarterbacks,” Walters said.
Walters said his offense will primarily use one or two tight ends and one running back. He also noted he doesn’t want his quarterback to be “running around like crazy,” but it helps when the defense has to defend all 11 players.
“I want our offense to do the things that I hate seeing on Saturdays as a defensive coordinator,” Walters said. “I think there’s a misnomer out there that defensive head coaches want to finish out a game and get the stats. I’m not into stats, I want to win games. I want our quarterbacks to have success here. We’re going to have a high-powered, high-flying offense.”
A factor impacting the hiring of an offensive coordinator is the amount of money available to hire assistant coaches. While the amount has not yet been released, Bobinski said it would be “really competitive.”
