I had never heard of that guy before. After seeing this I did a quick search, and wow what a wild ride he’s been on.
Played for 3 different colleges, 1 NAIA and 2 D3’s.
Also played 2 ways in college as both a QB and a safety.
Immediately stepped in as OC at his last college, Sul Ross State, after finishing his playing career. His team led all NCAA divisions in yards and points per game, and broke 16 school records for offense.
Hired by East Texas Baptist (a D3) to be OC in 2013 (at age 23!!) and fielded 2 top 10 offenses in his 2 seasons as OC. Then was promoted to HC in 2016 at age 26!!!! Once again his team led all NCAA divisions in scoring, and was 2nd in total offense, and finished 7-3.
Then hired by Southern Miss in 2014 as WR coach. Spent 2 years in the position then was named as Co-OC in 2019. After 1 game in 2020 Southern Miss’ head coach resigned and Walden was given interim HC duties at age 30, and he finished the fall 2020 season as USM’s HC.
Was hired by Austin Peay at the end of the 2020 season, and coached them in the spring of 2021 to a 4-2 record. (Remember FCS teams played the “2020” season in the spring of 2021.) He went 6-5 in the fall of 2021.
In 2022 he’s 6-3 at Austin Peay. They are currently 13th in total offense and 19th in scoring offense. In what essentially equates to 2 full seasons, Walden is 15-9 at Austin Peay.
It’s obvious Walden might have one of the best football minds in the world. He has been shot out of a rocket up the coaching ranks, but guys like him typically struggle to make it out of FCS and G5 purgatory simply because the big schools are too scared to take a risk on them. Walden will be name to look out for in coaching searches in the next couple years. If we need a new coach in ~5 years or so, Walden will probably be at the top of my list.