Sports
Purdue fires Ryan Walters after 1-11 season
Purdue’s disastrous 2024 season has led to a coaching change.
The school announced Sunday it was firing coach Ryan Walters after his second season. Purdue was 1-11 in 2024 and just 5-19 in Walters’ two seasons in charge.
“As college athletics enters an entirely new era in 2025, it’s a pivotal time for Purdue, and we must take the steps necessary to best position our football program for success,” athletic director Mike Bobinski said in a statement. “We are determined to provide the University and our incredibly loyal fans football performance that reflects the excellence of Purdue and is worthy of their continued support.”
The Boilermakers capped the season Saturday night with a 66-0 rivalry game loss to No. 10 Indiana. It’s the worst loss Purdue has suffered to Indiana in the history of the Old Oaken Bucket rivalry.
Purdue ended the season on an 11-game losing streak and its only win came against FCS-level Indiana State. Outside of a 50-49 overtime loss at Wisconsin, the Boilermakers weren’t really close to winning any other games either. Purdue was outscored by an average score of 40-16 on the season and lost six games by at least 35 points. The Boilermakers were possibly the worst power conference team in the country.
Walters, 38, was hired after he spent two seasons as Illinois’ defensive coordinator. Before he was at Illinois, Walters was an assistant at Missouri and was the Tigers’ defensive coordinator for three seasons. Before getting into coaching, Walters played defensive back at Colorado.
Despite his defensive background, Walters took over the offensive play-calling duties during the season. Before the loss to Illinois, Walters installed himself as the offensive play-caller. It was the first time he’d called offensive plays in his coaching career.
Purdue is the third power conference school to have a head coaching vacancy. North Carolina fired coach Mack Brown before its season finale and UCF coach Gus Malzahn resigned Saturday to take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State.
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