David Lee Walker (born December 4, 1969) is an

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

assistant

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

who currently serves as the running backs coach of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Early life

Walker grew up in the Rochester, New York suburb of

Irondequoit Irondequoit is a town (and census-designated place) in Monroe County, New York, United States. As of 2019, the coterminous town-CDP had a total population of 50,055. Irondequoit is a suburb of the city of Rochester, lying just north and east o ...

, where he was a four-time all-county football player. He was captain of an Irondequoit Indians team that won the Sectional championship in 1987, and was later selected as an inaugural member of the Section V Football Hall of Fame.

Playing career

Recruited by dozens of major colleges, Walker chose to attend

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, where he became one of the most prolific running backs for a school renowned for great runners. He finished his college career with 2,643 rushing yards, which was the fourth best total in school history when he graduated. He was behind Joe Morris (4,299 yards), Larry Csonka (2,934), and Floyd Little (2,704) and ahead of

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner

Ernie Davis Ernest Davis (December 14, 1939 – May 18, 1963) was an American football player who won the Heisman Trophy in 1961 and was its first African-American recipient. Davis played college football for Syracuse University and was the first pick in the ...

and Hall of Famer

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...

. Walker earned All-Big East honors twice. He captained the 1992 team, leading it to a number 6 national ranking, 10-2 overall record and 26-22 victory over Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl. Walker was not selected in the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot Ma ...

, but signed a free-agent contract with the Miami Dolphins. He was assigned to the team's practice squad, but was released without appearing in a regular season game.

Coaching career

Walker spent the 1994 season as an assistant coach at Miami Carol City Senior High School. In 1995, he returned to his alma mater as the running backs coach for the Syracuse Orange, a position he held for ten seasons. During that time, he tutored six running backs who would go on to play in the NFL. He oversaw four consecutive 1,000-yard rushers from 2000–03, a Syracuse record. Overall, Walker coached three of the Orange's top seven all-time leading rushers. Following the 2004 season, Walker left Syracuse to join Dave Wannstedt's staff at the University of Pittsburgh, where he remained through the 2010 season. Two of the running backs Walker coached at Pittsburgh went on to the NFL. In January 2011, he was named running backs coach at the University of Maryland, but three weeks later he was hired to the same position by the NFL's

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. Although head coach Jim Caldwell and most of his staff were fired following the 2011 season, the Colts announced that Walker would be retained. On January 26, 2015, Walker was fired by the Colts. Walker was hired as the running backs coach of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

on January 23, 2016. After three seasons with the team, he announced that he was stepping away from coaching to pursue other opportunities on January 29, 2019. He returned to the NFL ranks with the Chicago Bears, named their running backs coach on February 9, 2022.

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, David 1969 births Living people American football running backs Detroit Lions coaches Indianapolis Colts coaches Maryland Terrapins football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Syracuse Orange football coaches Syracuse Orange football players High school football coaches in Florida People from Irondequoit, New York Players of American football from New York (state) Chicago Bears coaches