Ryan Walters, who went 1-11 as the head coach at Purdue in 2024 before he was fired, has emerged as a strong candidate to replace Steve Belichick as the defensive coordinator at Washington, sources told Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports and 247Sports on Thursday.

Before his 2-year tenure as the head coach at Purdue, during which Walters went just 5-19, he was thought of as one of the country’s top defensive coordinators during stops at Illinois and Missouri.
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The 38-year-old Walters was the defensive coordinator at Illinois in 2021 and 2022 before getting the Purdue head coaching job, so if he did go to Washington it would be his 3rd straight job coaching in the Big Ten.

Belichick is the son of legendary coach Bill Belichick, who is now the head coach at North Carolina and has hired his son to run the defense in Chapel Hill. Steve Belichick spent just 1 season as Washington’s defensive coordinator before bolting to join his father’s staff at North Carolina, which freed up the position in Seattle that Walters is reportedly being linked to.

Washington improved to No. 28 nationally in total defense under Belichick in 2024 despite going through an inconsistent 6-6 season.

Walters played safety at Colorado from 2004-08 before beginning his coaching career immediately after that in 2009.