NORTHWESTERN COACH RANDY WALKER DEAD AT 52
Sad does not begin to describe this: Randy Walker, head coach at Northwestern, died last night of a heart attack. The university’s set to have a press conference at 10:00 a.m. Walker had checked himself into a hospital for chest pains before, and had been diagnosed with myocarditis, a relatively rare viral infection of the heart.
Walker is survived by his wife and two adult children. Condolences to all at Northwestern and Miami of Ohio who knew, worked with, and watched Walker coach his rollicking brand of football. Shocking just doesn’t cover it right now.
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1
Gob Bluth says:
A sad day indeed for Northwestern and the Big Ten.
June 30th, 2006 at 8:53 am
2
GamecockTony says:
Shocking is right… and sad.
I’ve always appreciated how his schemes and coaching seemed to get the most out of those NU teams.
Big loss for Northwestern and college football.
June 30th, 2006 at 8:55 am
3
DevilGrad says:
Thanks, Orson. Coach Walker was well-respected and well-loved in both Oxford and Evanston, and there are many folks who will miss him greatly.
Our thoughts are up on the front page at MiamiHawkTalk.com.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:07 am
4
Chris says:
I was a big fan of Coach Walker and his style of football. Northwestern is the only Big 10 team I ever find myself rooting for and this is a real tragedy. My condolences to his family and his friends.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:12 am
5
DevilGrad says:
A Kent State poster over on the MAC bulletin board shared a classic RW story in the thread I’ve just linked. Y’all may enjoy it.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:13 am
6
Geaux Irish says:
The feeling here in Chicago is pretty dark. RW was a very well respected man. They mentioned on the radio that he was to be named the Sporting News Big 10 coach of the year. Very sad loss indeed.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:22 am
7
immikefazz says:
He’ll be missed in the Big Ten. May he rest in peace…
June 30th, 2006 at 9:23 am
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Pants McPants says:
Just terrible news…Randy coached the right way, was bold, brash, reckless but very smart. He let his players play and they loved him for it. Just a big loss for college football. Sincerest sympathies for his family and friends.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:26 am
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Odell 51 says:
I’ll tip my 40oz to his memories. Who doesn’t love that NW offense? Loved him at Miami as well. Well respected. Sorry to all Northwestern fans.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:28 am
10
Azher says:
Its always sad to lose someone when they have yet to live out their lives. It hits even harder when it is a such a good leader of men such as Coach Walker was.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:35 am
11
Boclive says:
Coach Walker was a steely-eyed football man. My deepest condolences to his family on their profound loss.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:38 am
12
Mike says:
Sad day for college football. If you wanted to see a team hang 40 on ANY defense, you watched a Northwestern. God bless, Coach.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:38 am
13
Bruce Ciskie says:
I won’t miss Walker’s well-coached, well-disciplined kids upsetting Wisconsin, as they seemed to do every year.
But I will miss Walker. He was a great ambassador for Big Ten football, because he did things the right way at a school where it was supposedly impossible to win.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:42 am
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Orson Swindle says:
To all who are leaving comments—we’ll forward this thread over to Northwestern as soon as we find the relevant email address.
Thanks for sharing these.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:45 am
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adam says:
i couldn’t believe it when i read that this morning. total suckage. NWestern was always a great team to watch. something for wake forrest and vandy to look to when it comes to small, academic schools making good. he was actually who i originally wanted UF to hire after the [name redacted]er left. i guess i know who i’ll be getting drunk to tonight.
June 30th, 2006 at 9:51 am
16
Rome says:
Too damn young to die. I wish his family and all of the Northwestern family the best.
June 30th, 2006 at 10:00 am
17
PSUgirl says:
Such a disciplined and intelligent coach. He and his players could always be proud of the way they played the game.
It’s very sad. My dad, the epicenter of my love for PSU and sports, passed away a few years ago from an unexpected heart attack – on June 29th as well.
June 30th, 2006 at 10:05 am
18
Russ says:
Awful news. I loved what Walker did with the NW program, making it a consistant threat in the Big 10, without any of the smugness that Barnett had when he was winning in Evanston. RIP.
June 30th, 2006 at 10:13 am
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Bob Gomez for Presidint says:
Truly a sad, sad day.
June 30th, 2006 at 10:17 am
20
Redskin97 says:
Walker was an excellent coach, and an even better guy. May he rest in peace.
June 30th, 2006 at 10:55 am
21
djl says:
A class guy, never resorted to recruiting thugs, ran his program the right way. In many ways, Walker was the polar opposite of the guy he replaced at Northwestern.
Walker gave my alma mater (BGSU) fits when he was at Miami. I couldn’t have been happier when he got the Northwestern job.
Today, I couldn’t be sadder for him, his family, his friends, and everyone involved with Miami and Northwestern football.
June 30th, 2006 at 11:03 am
22
BamaHamr says:
So sorry to hear this…. NW is a team I always find myself rooting for. I believe Bama great Johnny Musso’s son played there in the late 90’s
On a lighter note… before Musso came to Tuscaloosa his name was pronounced like the word “mussel” without the “l” Coach Bryant pronounced it “Mewwso”, it stuck and subsequently all his relatives in Bham have since pronounced their names the same way..
June 30th, 2006 at 11:20 am
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PeteJayhawk says:
Whoa. Shocking. Condolences.
June 30th, 2006 at 11:46 am
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Lazer says:
Definitely a day for the college football world to grieve. The impetus is on a new coach to try and fill the void – as sad as losing a leader is, it does force people to recognize the good that leader left behind, and to be inspired by it.
And now, because I am always an innapropriate comment maker…
“ts always sad to lose someone when they have yet to live out their lives.” – (comment # 10). But, isn’t that what happens every time somone dies? Or, can’t we say that when a person dies, they have in fact lived out their life?
–some are just short and bright, and others are longer, but it’s the quality that really matters, and coach was certainly a quality man.
June 30th, 2006 at 11:46 am
25
Phil K. says:
Ditto Chris on NU being the only Big 10 football I can root for (my brother is a current student there). Condolences to his family and friends.
June 30th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
26
Tim Mc says:
A very sad day. Teachers, coaches and adults that survive him now have the duty and responsibility to carry on his legacy in leading students and children everywhere in playing and living “the right way”. God be with Randy and his family.
June 30th, 2006 at 12:29 pm
27
Beergut says:
Just sad news all around. I always enjoyed watching his team play, b/c you knew no matter what the score, Northwestern would never, ever quit, and there was always a chance they would come back.
He coached the game the right way, and all who knew him are better for coming in contact with him.
He will be missed.
June 30th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
28
Robb says:
Coach Walker was the only man I’ve ever met with calves bigger than my dad’s. I took Football Theory from Coach Walker and his staff at Miami, and the class was not at all easy, especially since Coach Walker graded on a strict bell curve. It was about a lot more than X’s and O’s; what it was really about was coaching theory and how to relate to athletes, especially high school and college kids. The thing that sticks out most in my mind is that Coach Walker taught us that the measure of a coach is not wins and losses, but whether s/he leaves the program better than s/he found it.
By that measure, Randy Walker was an overwhelming success. Good thoughts to his family, and Godspeed to Coach Walker.
June 30th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
29
CriticalFanatic says:
You can tell a lot about a man, just by shaking his hand. Walker was a prime example of this for me.
I have very fond memories of Walker as a student at Miami, and Big Ten Football Fan.
Coach Walker, you’ll be missed.
http://www.criticalfanatic.com/2006/06/30/coach-walker-youll-be-missed/
June 30th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
30
J.J. says:
Shocking…
I always loved seeing great academic institutions like Northwestern compete against (and many times upset) the big dogs in the B10. Condolences and best regards to the Walker family and the Northwestern community.
June 30th, 2006 at 5:55 pm