DeWayne Walker facts for kids
Walker at UCLA in 2008
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| Arizona State Sun Devils | |
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| Position: | Analyst |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | December 3, 1960 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Pasadena (CA) John Muir |
| College: | Minnesota |
| Undrafted: | 1982 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
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| As coach: | |
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| Head coaching record | |
| Career: | NCAA: 10–41 (.196) |
DeWayne Morris Walker (born December 3, 1960) is an American football coach and a former player. He is currently part of the coaching staff for the Arizona State Sun Devils football team. Before this, he was the defensive backs coach for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL). Walker played college football at the University of Minnesota. He also played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Edmonton Eskimos in 1982. Later, he played in the United States Football League (USFL) for the Oakland Invaders in 1984 and the Arizona Outlaws in 1985. From 2009 to 2012, Walker was the head football coach at New Mexico State University.
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Early Life and College Days
DeWayne Walker was born in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from John Muir High School in Pasadena, California in 1978. After high school, Walker attended Pasadena City College for two years. He then transferred to the University of Minnesota, where he was a starting player for two years.
In 1992, Walker earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal arts. He received this degree from Regents College, which is now known as Excelsior University.
Playing Football Professionally
After his college career, DeWayne Walker played professional football. In 1982, he played for the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League. He then moved to the United States Football League (USFL). He played for the Oakland Invaders in 1984. The next year, in 1985, he played for the Arizona Outlaws.
Coaching Career Highlights
DeWayne Walker has had a long and successful career as a football coach. He has coached at many different levels, including college and the NFL.
Coaching with Pete Carroll
In 2001, when Pete Carroll became the head coach of the USC Trojans, DeWayne Walker was his first hire. Walker was in charge of the secondary players, which are the defensive backs. Before joining USC, he had worked in a similar role for three seasons with the New England Patriots. Pete Carroll chose Walker because he knew Carroll's coaching style well from their time together in the NFL.
Coaching at UCLA
Walker became the defensive coordinator for the UCLA Bruins in 2006. In December 2006, his defense played a great game against their rivals, the USC Trojans. They held USC to under 10 points, which was the first time that had happened since 2001. This important win helped the Bruins end a seven-game losing streak against USC.
In December 2007, UCLA's head coach, Karl Dorrell, was dismissed. DeWayne Walker was asked to step in as the interim head coach for the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl. In that game, the Bruins played against Brigham Young University, a team they had beaten earlier that season. BYU won the bowl game 17–16 after a field goal attempt by UCLA was blocked as time ran out. This game gave Walker a 0–1 record as a head coach.
After the Las Vegas Bowl, there was a lot of talk about whether Walker would stay at UCLA. He even received an offer to become the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington. However, it was later confirmed that Walker decided to stay at UCLA. He continued his role as defensive coordinator for the Bruins. Walker also interviewed for the main head coaching position at UCLA. While he was a top candidate, the job eventually went to Rick Neuheisel.
Leading New Mexico State
On December 31, 2008, DeWayne Walker was named the head coach at New Mexico State University. He was the second African-American coach in the school's history. At that time, he was also one of only seven African-American head coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Walker coached New Mexico State for four seasons. He resigned from his position after the 2012 season.
Coaching in the NFL
After leaving New Mexico State, Walker returned to coaching in the NFL. On January 22, 2013, it was announced that he would become the defensive backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He held this position until 2016. Later, he coached the defensive backs for the Cleveland Browns from 2017 to 2019.
Head Coaching Record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA Bruins (Pacific-10 Conference) (2007) | |||||||||
| 2007 | UCLA | 0–1 | L Las Vegas | ||||||
| UCLA: | 0–1 | ||||||||
| New Mexico State Aggies (Western Athletic Conference) (2009–2012) | |||||||||
| 2009 | New Mexico State | 3–10 | 1–7 | T–8th | |||||
| 2010 | New Mexico State | 2–10 | 1–7 | 8th | |||||
| 2011 | New Mexico State | 4–9 | 2–5 | 7th | |||||
| 2012 | New Mexico State | 1–11 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
| New Mexico State: | 10–40 | 4–25 | |||||||
| Total: | 10–41 | ||||||||
