Randy Walker, the first coach to lead Northwestern to three bowl games, died June 29 of an apparent heart attack. He was 52.
He suffered the apparent heart attack about 10 p.m. and died shortly thereafter. During the 2004 season, Walker was hospitalized after experiencing chest pains and diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, but was released a few days later and coached NU’s next game.
Walker had a 37-46 record at NU during his seven-year tenure, the second most wins in school history. He was coming off a trip to the Sun Bowl and a 7-5 record, the school’s third-straight year of six or more wins – a first in modern NU history.
He recently signed a contract extension through the 2011 season, and NU athletic director Mark Murphy said he hoped Walker would coach the Wildcats even longer.
“He was resilient in his life,” Murphy said at a televised news conference Friday morning, “and I think his teams took on that same character.”
Walker was hired in 1999 to replace the departed Gary Barnett, who left for Colorado after taking the Cats to the Rose Bowl during the 1995 season.
Despite the tough task of replacing an NU legend, along with taking over for a team with an 0-8 conference record the previous year, Walker quickly established the program as his own. In 2000, his Wildcats earned a share of the Big Ten title and a trip to the Alamo Bowl.
Walker also took the Cats to the Motor City Bowl in 2003.
A native of Troy, Ohio, Walker came to the Cats after coaching at Miami (Ohio), where he had the most wins of any coach in the school’s history. Walker played at Miami from 1973 to 1975.
Known as an intense, businessman-like coach, “Coach Walk” was respected – if not always loved – by his players.
He used that approach to mold recruiting classes ranked near the bottom of the conference into two straight 5-3 Big Ten records. The Cats tied for third in the Big Ten last season.
Off the field, though, the friendly, outspoken Walker endeared himself to the public and media.
He almost always was seen after practice with his dog, Magic, and his wife, Tammy. He peppered many news conferences with amusing stories from his personal life or his football past. He wore cowboy boots to NU’s press conference announcing the Cats’ invitation to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
He also joked publicly about some of his players, once making fun of former quarterback Brett Basanez after he fell face-first at the 4-yard line during a game
Of kicker Joel Howells, he once said: “You’d want him to walk in and marry your daughter.”
Walker’s tenure wasn’t without troubles. During preseason workouts in 2001, former safety Rashidi Wheeler died of what medical reports said was an exercise-induced asthma attack. The 22-year-old also had taken a supplement that contained ephedra, a stimulant now banned by the NCAA.
Wheeler’s parents sued the school, and were awarded a $16 million settlement.
Walker rarely addressed Wheeler’s death publicly because of the lawsuit, but he reportedly was deeply hurt by the tragedy.
“You’re not taught how to get through that,” Tammy Walker told the DAILY in 2003. “I think it was real tough on him and more than even he wants to admit.”
Some players saw a similar caring side to Walker.
Howells on Friday said Walker came into the kicker’s room to console him after a poor performance at the Sun Bowl.
“I’ll never forget Coach Walk,” a visibly shaken Howells said. “I think (for) a lot of people, it hasn’t totally set in.”
Now those people – players, friends and family – will have to follow an old Walker rallying cry: Respond.
“He’d want us to keep going,” Howells said. “He prepared us for football, but prepared us for other things, too… He’d want us to come together and to keep working for the things he’s established for us.”
Walker is survived by Tammy, his daughter, Abbey, and his son, Jamie, a recruiting assistant at NU.
Reach Patrick Dorsey at [email protected]
