Northwestern University Athletics
Randy Walker's ESPN Chat Transcript
9/22/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 22, 1999
Randy Walker, off to a 2-1 start in his first season as Northwestern head football coach, stopped by ESPN.com for a live chat on Wednesday, September 22.
Here is a transcript of that chat session:
Randy Walker: I am here and ready for your questions. Let's get started.
Mark Turner: How do you rate your team's performance so far this season?
Randy Walker: We are happy to be 2-1, but there is no one on our staff that believes we have played our best football. We talk about playing with effort and focusing on the moment and playing the best we can each play at a time. We haven't been spectacular but we have been consistent. The last two games have been gratifying.
I am pleased with our effort, how hard we have played but I know that we have a long ways to go.
Alan Esser: Coach do you think the players have adjusted to your coaching style, or was it similar to Barnett's?
Randy Walker: I don't think in honesty that they have totally adjusted. This relationship needs time to develop. We have worked hard to get to know each other. The players have worked hard to adapt to my coaching style and I am happy with their effort in adapting.
I can't really say about Barnett's style and I really think you would have to ask the players on that one.
Robert Roncaglia: With the Big Ten being a very tough conference, how long do you think it will take the Northwestern Wildcats' program to regain the success it had several years ago?
Randy Walker: We believe we can be successful this year. We don't go into any season looking down the road a whole lot. We know we have to play one game at a time and get better each week. If we can do that, I think we can be successful this season.
Before I can comment about us having that kind of success, there are lots of things that need to improve here. I think our kids have made improvements each week as we head into our Big Ten schedule. I can't really look too far ahead because we have our hands full each week.
RedhawkFan: Hello Coach Walker. I am a Miami (Ohio) alumnus ('92) and have enjoyed your Redskin/Redhawk teams. My question: What's it like recruiting in the Big Ten vs. recruiting in the MAC? Does Northwestern's academic reputation limit you?
Randy Walker: That is a good question. A lot of people look at our standards and our reputation and look at it as a negative. I think it is a real positive. I think we are a very attractive school to the highest level of student-athletes. Every great player that wants a world-class education, wants to come here. With the commitment to education and the commitment to athletics (staff, facilities etc), we think we have a great school and a program on the move, plus a great city to attract the best student-athletes.
Recruiting is recruiting. Certainly the Division I recruiting competition is brutal. We have a great recruiting staff and I think we can be successful. This is our first year and I think we can have as much success here as I did at Miami bringing the best players in.
Kevin Cox: What was the major determining factor in taking the head coaching position in Evanston? How do you think the Big Ten conference will stack up to the MAC?
Randy Walker: There were a lot. It was very hard to leave Miami. I felt we had a great program in place there and we had turned things around. It was hard to walk away from there because I thought we had the best team coming back this season.
But I went there because of the great coaching legacy there. Coaching is not a lifetime job, and many people kept asking me when I was leaving. I moved because it was the best move for me and my family and the best thing for Miami. I felt good about what I did at Miami and the success we had but it was time to move on and try my luck somewhere else and open up a spot in the coaching cradle for someone else at Miami.
Carolina Mudcat Wildcat: The ability for one to improve in a profession relies on a personal recognition of strengths and weaknesses. I've heard you detail your strengths in the past few months, but haven't heard you address your weaknesses. What are your weaknesses, and why? Thanks... and I'm proud to have you in the NU family.
Randy Walker: Some of these are a double-edged swords -- some can be looked at as strengths.
I'm not very patient, I tend to expect and want things the right way quicker then possible sometimes. So I am sometimes very impatient.
I am also not the most understanding person. I struggle with failure and can't understand people that make choices that lead to failure. I struggle with people that chose the wrong path.
Those are the two main things -- impatience and lack of sympathy for people that make bad choices. It is part of my make up.
Ben: Which team are you looking forward to playing the most in the Big Ten season?
Randy Walker: I have been asked that a lot especially playing Purdue this week. I look at every game as a big game. We only have 11 games each week. I have a tough time understanding why every Saturday isn't a huge game. I stress to my team that football has a very short life span for a player so you have to take every game as serious as possible.
I look forward to playing all these teams because there is so much tradition in this conference. But our biggest game is always who we are playing this week.
Paul Poast: Coach, is there anything you miss about Miami, having now been separated for some time?
Randy Walker: I spent 15 years of my life there. I played there, got married there and my daughter is in school there. So I have very strong feelings for Miami. But I felt that in this profession that I would someday move on. It was the right thing for me to move on and I will always have very strong feelings for that school, but they are in very good hands right now.
NUMBcat: Many people have said that the '95 and '96 miracle teams won with inferior talent but superior spirit. Northwestern's subsequent highly valued recruits have not advanced the team. What needs to be regained more, talent or spirit/heart, to rise back to the top?
Randy Walker: I can't address what happened in '95-96 but I feel that recruiting right after big seasons is not a good indicator of how a program is going to do. I have seen so many highly recruited players do nothing at the collegiate level.
We will play hard and with enthusiasm each week and on every snap. I think one of the most underrated things about a program is the development of a player over the course of four years. I tell my kids that I don't care where you start but where you finish. I just want to see improvement every day.
SeattleCat: OK, you can't be pleased with the team's offense...what will it take to fix it?
Randy Walker: We haven't played with the offensive consistency we are looking for. I am not discouraged and we are looking to tighten things up each week. It takes time to build consistency on offense. I believe in our system and feel we will be successful. I can't say I am tickled with the way we have played, but I think everyone is working very hard to improve. We have a very young offense and a first-year coach. We are going to try and grow and make progress each week. I believe we will be a much better offense in Week 11 then we are right now.
Randy Walker: That is all the time I have for now. Thanks for all the questions. We'll try and do this again sometime.
Take care.
