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Illinois extends contract of former Mizzou defensive coorinator Ryan Walters
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The Missouri Tigers may have missed an opportunity to bring back one of their own when Illinois announced that they signed their defensive coordinator Ryan Walters through the 2024 season.
Head coach Bret Bielema talked about Walters’ impact on his team.
“It’s hard to state the impact Ryan has had on the defensive side of the ball and our whole program,” Bielema said in the announcement. “Our players feed off his energy and teaching, and he has a tremendous feel for the game when he’s calling it. His leadership, combined with the proven minds in the defensive staff room, have allowed him to create the Illinois defense, not a scheme that has been done in the past. I’m grateful that our administration, led by Josh Whitman, was able to get in front of this and reward Ryan for the tremendous impact he’s had and is going to have in the future here at Illinois.”
Walters’s contract will make him one of the highest-paid defensive coordinators in the country.
Walters was with the Tigers from 2016-2020. Earlier this season, Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz addressed the team’s defensive struggles by firing the defensive line coach.
Veteran journalist Stacey Mickles graduated from the University of Alabama and covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
