DeWayne Morris Walker (born December 3, 1960) is an American

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

coach and former player. He is currently on the staff for the Arizona State Sun Devils football team. He previously served as the defensive backs coach of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Walker played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

and professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL), with

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

in 1982, and in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL), with the

Oakland Invaders The Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 through 1985. Based in Oakland, California, they played at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The team can t ...

in 1984 and the

Arizona Outlaws The Arizona Outlaws were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. They were owned by Fresno banker and real estate magnate William Tatham Sr., who had briefly owned the Portland ...

in 1985. Walker served as the head football coach at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

from 2009 to 2012, compiling a record of 10–41 in four seasons.

Early life and college

Born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Walker graduated from

John Muir High School John Muir High School is a four-year comprehensive secondary school in Pasadena, California, United States and is a part of the Pasadena Unified School District. The school is named after preservationist John Muir. History In 1926, the Pasade ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

in 1978. Walker attended and played for

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. History Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. It originally o ...

for two years before transferring to the

, where he was a two-year starter. In 1992, Walker completed his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

at Regents College of the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state governmental umbrella organization that oversees all educational institutions, including schools, libraries, and museums in New York State. It is governed by the Board of Regents. D ...

(now

Excelsior University Excelsior University is a private online university in Albany, New York. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and comprises three schools: the school of undergraduate studies, the school of graduate studies, and the school of nursing. ...

Professional playing career

Walker played for the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

in 1982 and the

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

in 1984 and

in 1985.

Coaching career

Walker was

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for the NCAA's ...

's first hire once he became head coach of the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

in 2001; Walker oversaw the secondary and had spent the previous three seasons in a similar role with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. When Carroll hired Walker, he noted "He was with me . ./nowiki> in the NFL, and he was able to learn my style and understand my system".David Wharton
Carroll’s First Hire Is Walker
''Los Angeles Times'', December 19, 2000, Accessed July 15, 2008. Between USC and coaching the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

, Walker was a secondary coach for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He has also coached for the New England Patriots and at Mount San Antonio College, Utah State, BYU,

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

UCLA Bruins

In December 2006, his defense held the rival

under 10 points for the first time since 2001. It helped the Bruins end a seven-game losing streak in the

UCLA–USC rivalry The UCLA–USC rivalry is the American collegiate athletics rivalry between the UCLA Bruins sports teams of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and USC Trojans teams of the University of Southern California (USC). Both univers ...

. Following the dismissal of UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell in December 2007, Walker was asked to be the head coach of the Bruins in the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl. Dorrell was offered the opportunity to coach a final game, but declined. The Bruins faced

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

champion

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

, a team they defeated earlier in the season. BYU beat UCLA 17–16 when BYU Cougars defensive lineman Eathyn Manumaleuna blocked a 28-yard field goal as time expired. This left Walker with a 0–1 record as head coach. After the Las Vegas bowl game, speculations arose on whether Walker would return to the program. Among others, he received an offer to replace

Kent Baer Kent Lex Baer (born May 2, 1951) is an American college football coach. He most recently was the defensive coordinator at the University of Montana, a position he held from 2018 to 2022. Baer served as the interim head football coach at the Unive ...

as defensive coordinator at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. On January 1, 2008, ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' columnist Tom Dienhart reported that Walker had accepted the offer. The story, however, turned out to be untrue, as ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' reporter Chris Foster reported that Walker would stay at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and remain defensive coordinator for the Bruins. The Sporting News later retracted the story. Walker interviewed for the UCLA Bruin head coaching position and was one of the leading candidates for the position along with

Rick Neuheisel Richard Gerald Neuheisel Jr. (; born February 7, 1961) is an American football analyst, coach, and former player. He served as the head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1995 to 1999, at the University of Washington from ...

Al Golden Alfred James Golden Jr. (born July 4, 1969) is an American professional football coach and former tight end who is the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head football coach f ...

of Temple, and

Norm Chow Norman Yew Heen Chow (born May 3, 1946) is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football, University of Hawaii at Manoa, a position he held from December 2011 until November ...

. The job eventually went to Neuheisel and Walker remained as defensive coordinator.

New Mexico State

On December 31, 2008, Walker was named head coach at

. Walker became the second African-American coach in school history and the seventh African-American FBS coach at that time. He resigned as head coach after the 2012 season.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On January 22, 2013, it was reported that Walker would leave New Mexico State in favor of the defensive backs job with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

.Jaguars hire Walker to coach DBs
/ref>

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Dewayne 1960 births Living people African-American coaches of American football American football cornerbacks Arizona Outlaws players BYU Cougars football coaches California Golden Bears football coaches Canadian football defensive backs Edmonton Elks players Jacksonville Jaguars coaches New England Patriots coaches New Mexico State Aggies football coaches New York Giants coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Mt. SAC Mounties football coaches Oakland Invaders players Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches Pasadena City Lancers football players UCLA Bruins football coaches USC Trojans football coaches Utah State Aggies football coaches John Muir High School alumni Players of American football from Los Angeles Players of Canadian football from Los Angeles Sports coaches from Los Angeles