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Ryan Walters - DC Illinois

I am not as high on Ryan as others. Not because he was a Buff. I would like to see some real HC experience this go around. However, I would not be down on him if he was given the chance. Article I read he was called a quiet leader, I thought of KD. I would like to see some passion and excitement from our next coach.
 
Honestly, Embree, Bienemy and Chev are the only alums who have coached here and left with a negative perception and Embree and EB were gone after 2 seasons. People say Dorrell was a former Buff but his only association with this program was a 4 year stint as OC almost 30 years ago. I think your (and most others) take is mostly recency bias with the Embree era disaster still on the mind.
Hagan has been pretty mediocre and still collecting a check for deeds performed 30 years ago, but I don’t care so much about position coaches and that may be where having a Buff on staff can be useful if they can relate to the players from their experience and that translates to plus recruiting, but the 3-4 you named are the only former Buffs I can think of that have been HC or a coordinator here and the hit rate has been zero.
 
Hagan has been pretty mediocre and still collecting a check for deeds performed 30 years ago, but I don’t care so much about position coaches and that may be where having a Buff on staff can be useful if they can relate to the players from their experience and that translates to plus recruiting, but the 3-4 you named are the only former Buffs I can think of that have been HC or a coordinator here and the hit rate has been zero.
Sure but “hard to fire” isn’t accurate and in the context of this conversation, “no more Buffs” is kind of overplayed, IMO.

Also, no former Buffs have ever been as qualified to hold any of the positions they held as Walters is to hold the position as HC here.
 
This program needs a coach who can command the respect of admin and boosters alike. Walters isnt there yet. Hiring him now would be a mistake and would likely set his career back significantly. Hiring an up and comer won’t work for us. We aren’t in a position where a coordinator - any coordinator - would achieve success here. Too much internal restrictions to overcome and nobody willing to curtail those restrictions. He’d be set up to fail and I don’t want to see that happen again.
I don't think you are wrong, but that's because Rick George is a joke. Everything you say here is his job. Coaches are to coach.
 
Sure but “hard to fire” isn’t accurate and in the context of this conversation, “no more Buffs” is kind of overplayed, IMO.

Also, no former Buffs have ever been as qualified to hold any of the positions they held as Walters is to hold the position as HC here.
You don’t think it’s harder to fire an alum? Embree got a quick axe but he shouldn’t have been hired in the first place. Chev and Hagan both had jobs here much longer than they should have.

You’re probably right on Walter’s qualifications compared to other CU hires, but how does he stack up to other candidates? Will Walters be a candidate anywhere besides CU?
 
I prefer to look at it like no more glory years types. Walters played for D2.

Here's what I like-I think Ryan's a damn good recruiter. He would lock the state down. Would probably do well in Texas and California too.

His offense would be a question. Can you go get a guy who can play an exciting brand of football?
 
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I don't think you are wrong, but that's because Rick George is a joke. Everything you say here is his job. Coaches are to coach.
The current reality of college football makes coaches do a lot more than just coach. That’s doubly true here. I would also argue that it doesn’t really matter whether it’s because RG is a joke, if PD is a useless imbecile, or some combination of the two. Reality is reality. Walters would not succeed here and it has nothing to do with his coaching ability.
 
You don’t think it’s harder to fire an alum? Embree got a quick axe but he shouldn’t have been hired in the first place. Chev and Hagan both had jobs here much longer than they should have.

You’re probably right on Walter’s qualifications compared to other CU hires, but how does he stack up to other candidates? Will Walters be a candidate anywhere besides CU?
I think he’s probably a year away, but yes, Walters is being mentioned as one of the top rising coaching stars in the country and he has now done it in both SEC and B1G.

How does he stack up? He’s far younger than most candidates and hasn’t been a HC, so it depends on who you compare him to.
 
I think he’s probably a year away, but yes, Walters is being mentioned as one of the top rising coaching stars in the country and he has now done it in both SEC and B1G.

How does he stack up? He’s far younger than most candidates and hasn’t been a HC, so it depends on who you compare him to.
I’ll be interested to see if he really gets any serious looks this year aside from CU,
 
Love what Walter’s could bring. My biggest concern would be recruiting. He’s been an great DC this year but recruiting track record isn’t anything special. I’m seeing 1 four star on 247 and he was a Missouri guy he got to stay home.
 
I am ok with the thought CU needs to bring a coach who has previous relevant HC experience with where the program is at. However, the issue is and always will be, if you limit yourself to this type of thinking, you are going to limit yourself to a certain pool of coaches. Its not any different than the thought during the 2010 hiring process that only a buff can lead the football program.

CU already has limits that the School puts on itself for reasons unknown. If you interview a guy like Walters and he absolutely blows you away with his passion, leadership, and how he will build the program, you've just now lost out on a potential superstar. He and other coordinators are going to get jobs very soon and someone is going to be a superstar. This is the type of thinking that has poisoned the CU AD and administration for a very long time. You absolutely need to at least interview these candidates and if they don't blow you away, then you can fall on your guy that needs "previous HC experience".
 
Some interesting potential staff connections listed here given that's one of the bigger question marks with Walters. Also that defensive improvement is crazy good, will be interesting to see if he can keep it up against a stronger 2nd half of the season and question marks around their QB's health.

 
I am ok with the thought CU needs to bring a coach who has previous relevant HC experience with where the program is at. However, the issue is and always will be, if you limit yourself to this type of thinking, you are going to limit yourself to a certain pool of coaches. Its not any different than the thought during the 2010 hiring process that only a buff can lead the football program.

CU already has limits that the School puts on itself for reasons unknown. If you interview a guy like Walters and he absolutely blows you away with his passion, leadership, and how he will build the program, you've just now lost out on a potential superstar. He and other coordinators are going to get jobs very soon and someone is going to be a superstar. This is the type of thinking that has poisoned the CU AD and administration for a very long time. You absolutely need to at least interview these candidates and if they don't blow you away, then you can fall on your guy that needs "previous HC experience".
Agreed. We also need to be realistic about where the CU job ranks among the available openings. The best candidates will be interviewing at Nebraska, too. And probably Auburn. You really think we're going to win that battle? This is where the myopia of saying "no more former Buffs" or "no coordinators" falls apart. The simple fact is that Ryan Walters is already too good for CU. Anyone who doesn't see that is, well, enough of a homer to be in here so...
 
Agreed. We also need to be realistic about where the CU job ranks among the available openings. The best candidates will be interviewing at Nebraska, too. And probably Auburn. You really think we're going to win that battle? This is where the myopia of saying "no more former Buffs" or "no coordinators" falls apart. The simple fact is that Ryan Walters is already too good for CU. Anyone who doesn't see that is, well, enough of a homer to be in here so...
Former Buffs or Former Huskers are people that were around in 1989-2001 when both programs were kicking ass and taking names
Anyone after that is part of the decline of both programs and thus should not be fully disqualified
Walters is in the top 5 in my opinion, and might rise to the top if a lot of the other candidates fall through
I do wish he had HC experience, but, who knows
 
Former Buffs or Former Huskers are people that were around in 1989-2001 when both programs were kicking ass and taking names
Anyone after that is part of the decline of both programs and thus should not be fully disqualified
Walters is in the top 5 in my opinion, and might rise to the top if a lot of the other candidates fall through
I do wish he had HC experience, but, who knows

it was awesome to see what his D did today against Nebraska! Whether or not he becomes the head coach here, congrats to Ryan and his defense today!
 
it was awesome to see what his D did today against Nebraska! Whether or not he becomes the head coach here, congrats to Ryan and his defense today!
Very good defense, tackle everything and brought pressure from different areas all the time.
Having that Defense in Boulder would work for me
Pretty sure he will get an interview
 
I think the most surprising thing about Walters is the cross pollination that he’s had with different coaching trees. The example staff put forth in the bio piece was surprisingly good.
I think there is a 30-40% chance he gets the job if the larger names get hired at other programs
 
I think there is a 30-40% chance he gets the job if the larger names get hired at other programs
You know, I would’ve hated that at first blush, mostly because I would have thought the experience and staff connections weren’t there. But, he’s been a successful DC at two P5 stops. I also always liked Walters as a player because of his intangibles and leadership, which have proven to be good skills for coaching.
 
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Illinois did not have much talent not to long ago. Now they have a bunch of it.

It's a bonus that he is doing a great job of maximizing the use of that talent.

I want a coach who understands what it takes to build a roster and a program. He is worth looking at.
 
Could have had Walters on staff already if RG hired BB over KD.
 
He runs the best defense in the country at Illinois, where he very rarely has a talent advantage. At some point, that’s gotta be impressive enough to warrant serious consideration, assuming he has a plan for a staff and shows well in an interview.
Illinois unders have been extremely money this year, so I’ve watched a bunch of their games. Nearly every commentary team hypes him up.
 
He runs the best defense in the country at Illinois, where he very rarely has a talent advantage. At some point, that’s gotta be impressive enough to warrant serious consideration, assuming he has a plan for a staff and shows well in an interview.
I cannot watch this God f_cking awful tackling week after week after week. Yes please on Walters.
 
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