Good piece in The Athletic today about the link Sean Payton had to Randy Walker and former NU players. A couple of excerpts:
As Sean Payton was preparing for his first NFL Draft as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints in 2006, he placed a call to Randy Walker.
When Payton was a young offensive coordinator at the University of Miami in Ohio in the mid-1990s, Walker was the team’s head coach. Payton had always respected the straight-to-the-point communication method his old boss used with players and assistant coaches alike. So after Walker had moved on to become the coach at Northwestern years later and Payton needed an honest evaluation of a draft-eligible quarterback from the school, he knew he could count on Walker to provide one.
“Now, you have to know Randy Walker,” said Payton, now in his first season as the head coach of the Broncos. “He didn’t pass out many compliments. It was like they were hard-earned. We finished (the conversation about) the quarterback, and he said, ‘What do you think of my right tackle?’ I didn’t know who his right tackle was, right? I said, ‘Who’s your right tackle?’ He yelled at me like I should have known, and I probably should have.”
That right tackle was Zach Strief. Walker told Payton that if Trai Essex, an offensive lineman on Walker’s 2004 Northwestern team, was good enough to be drafted by the Steelers in the third round of the 2005 draft, Strief was good enough to play in the NFL for 10 years. So when the call ended, Payton walked into the Saints’ draft room and saw a magnet with Strief’s name on it sitting among a group of priority free agents. Payton moved Strief’s magnet over to the group of sixth-round prospects.
Weeks later, the Saints drafted Strief in the seventh round. He played 12 seasons in New Orleans, later becoming an anchor on the offensive line, a pillar in the community and an invaluable locker room leader.
The story of that call will soon have another chapter. When Payton became the Broncos’ head coach in February, one of his first moves was to hire Strief as the offensive line coach. And the connection to Walker, who unexpectedly died of a heart attack at 52, just two months after Strief was drafted, goes even deeper than that. New assistant offensive line coach Austin King and running backs coach Lou Ayeni also played for Walker at Northwestern, and they were college teammates with Strief in 2002.
theathletic.com
As Sean Payton was preparing for his first NFL Draft as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints in 2006, he placed a call to Randy Walker.
When Payton was a young offensive coordinator at the University of Miami in Ohio in the mid-1990s, Walker was the team’s head coach. Payton had always respected the straight-to-the-point communication method his old boss used with players and assistant coaches alike. So after Walker had moved on to become the coach at Northwestern years later and Payton needed an honest evaluation of a draft-eligible quarterback from the school, he knew he could count on Walker to provide one.
“Now, you have to know Randy Walker,” said Payton, now in his first season as the head coach of the Broncos. “He didn’t pass out many compliments. It was like they were hard-earned. We finished (the conversation about) the quarterback, and he said, ‘What do you think of my right tackle?’ I didn’t know who his right tackle was, right? I said, ‘Who’s your right tackle?’ He yelled at me like I should have known, and I probably should have.”
That right tackle was Zach Strief. Walker told Payton that if Trai Essex, an offensive lineman on Walker’s 2004 Northwestern team, was good enough to be drafted by the Steelers in the third round of the 2005 draft, Strief was good enough to play in the NFL for 10 years. So when the call ended, Payton walked into the Saints’ draft room and saw a magnet with Strief’s name on it sitting among a group of priority free agents. Payton moved Strief’s magnet over to the group of sixth-round prospects.
Weeks later, the Saints drafted Strief in the seventh round. He played 12 seasons in New Orleans, later becoming an anchor on the offensive line, a pillar in the community and an invaluable locker room leader.
The story of that call will soon have another chapter. When Payton became the Broncos’ head coach in February, one of his first moves was to hire Strief as the offensive line coach. And the connection to Walker, who unexpectedly died of a heart attack at 52, just two months after Strief was drafted, goes even deeper than that. New assistant offensive line coach Austin King and running backs coach Lou Ayeni also played for Walker at Northwestern, and they were college teammates with Strief in 2002.
How Sean Payton's Broncos staff carries on a late Northwestern coach's legacy
Three new assistants on Denver's staff played at Northwestern under the late Randy Walker, whom Payton worked for as a young coordinator.
theathletic.com
