Arizona has hired veteran assistant DeWayne Walker to coach in the secondary, one day after new coach Jedd Fisch tweeted about the "36 years of NFL experience" joining his defensive staff.
Walker, a former defensive coordinator at USC and UCLA and head coach at New Mexico State, is listed as a defensive backs coach — the same title held by new UA hire Chuck Cecil. Walker will in fact coach defensive backs and nickel backs, with Cecil handling the safeties.
"Coach Walker and I have known one another since 2004 and worked together with the Jacksonville Jaguars," Fisch said in a news release. "He is a fantastic coach and person who understands the importance of being smart, tough, and fundamentally sound. By adding DeWayne to our program, we have added incredible experience and a great resource for our student-athletes and coaches. I want to welcome Coach Walker and his family to Wildcat Nation."
Walker has 14 seasons of NFL coaching experience, most recently serving as as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns from 2017-19. Before that, he spent four seasons with on the Jaguars' staff. Walker went to the NFL team directly from Las Cruces.
A Pete Carroll disciple, Walker was the coach's first hire when he was hired as USC's head coach two decades ago. Carroll's son, Brennan, is the Wildcats' new offensive coordinator.
Walker said it's "a great opportunity for me to work with Coach Fisch as part of his coaching staff at Arizona."
"We talked about him eventually becoming a head coach of his own program while we were together with the Jaguars, and it's a special moment to see that dream come to fruition," he said. "I believe this is where I belong because coaching and developing young men in the college game is where I started and it's my passion. I can't wait to get to Tucson to coach alongside Jedd and his outstanding staff to work with the young men in the program to be successful on the field and in life after football."
Fisch has remade Arizona's defensive staff with veteran coaches, and another one could be on the way. Fisch's now-famous Twitter feed posted a clue on Tuesday night that indicates former Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown is on the way.
