> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Will Defensive Coordinator Ryan Walters Stay With Huskies? There’s ‘Hope’ - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/will-defensive-coordinator-ryan-walters-huskies-tennesee-rumors/ - Published: 2025-12-10T02:50:54.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:16:54.000Z - Author: Aaron Coe - Tags: Washington Football, Huskies, Ryan Walters \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1784"\] ![ Washington Huskies defensive coordinator Ryan Walters speaks to the media at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. Credit: Aaron Coe/Emerald City Spectrum ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/img_1671-format-original.jpg) Washington Huskies defensive coordinator Ryan Walters speaks to the media at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025\. Credit: Aaron Coe/Emerald City Spectrum \[/caption\] SEATTLE, Wash. — For right now, it sounds like Washington Huskies defensive coordinator Ryan Walters is packing for Los Angeles rather than Knoxville, Tennessee. The team departs Wednesday for the LA Bowl, and all indications are that Walters will be calling the defense when the game kicks off 5 p.m. Saturday at SoFi Stadium. Walters put together a solid defense in his first year at UW, holding all opponents to 26 or fewer points. Though his two seasons as head coach at Purdue didn’t go particularly well — Purdue will do that to just about anyone — Walters’ stints as a defensive coordinator at Missouri, Illinois and Washington have shown he can run a defense. So much so that a Tennessee program that recently fired D.C. Tim Banks has interest in Walters, according to a report from On3’s Pete Nakos. It seems like a natural fit, given that Walters was on the Missouri staff with Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel and some current Tennessee assistants in 2016-2017\. “That’s a pretty easy connect-the-dots deal,” Walters said on Tuesday. “Obviously, I’ve coached with a lot of those guys in the past, know and respect them fully. But rumors are just rumors. I’ve had zero communication with anybody over there regarding any kind of job. I know there’s an opening there. If I was a media member, I’d connect the same dots, as well. That makes sense. “But right now, those are just rumors.” Asked directly if he expects to be at Washington in 2026, Walters said, “I hope so.” “I really enjoy this place,” he continued. “Right now, I am the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington. We’re playing against Boise State on Saturday. I enjoy Seattle. My family lives here. Love it here. That’s where we’re at right now.” Does a jump from Washington to Tennessee make sense? There are many factors to consider. Assuming Walters wants a good opportunity to be a head coach in the near future, he must determine which program puts him in the best position to achieve that goal. There’s the comfort level with the head coach, current roster and ability to attract talent. And, of course, the contract is always part of the equation. Walters is set to earn $1.5 million in 2026, the last of a two-year deal. Banks earned $2.1 million at Tennessee last season. “I’m really excited about who we have coming back,” Walters said of the UW players expected back next season. “I’m really fired up about the class that we signed and their ability to make an immediate impact. You look at the schedule next year — I like the matchups. I like the home and away schedule, as well. It’ll be Year 2 in the system. I really like the way we finished the year and sort of the direction we’re heading. “With the guys coming back and being another year in the system, they’re only going to get better. You look at my resume as a coordinator, there’s always been a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2\. I’m a history major, and usually, history repeats itself. So I’m looking forward to that next step, especially dealing with situational ball and fine-tuning the expectations and the intensity level, and the focus that’s required in those make-or-break moments in games. I think that’s an area where we’ll grow next year.” Parsing the words of coaches who are asked about the potential for leaving is always a challenge. There’s not much point in a coach saying, “I’m never leaving this job, ever, for any reason, for the rest of my life.” Things change. Motivations change. Athletic departments and the coaches around them change. When I recorded this clip of Walters speaking today, I found his tone interesting when he said, “I hope so” about 39 seconds in. > Here is everything [#Huskies](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Huskies?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) defensive coordinator Ryan Walters said about rumors that he's a candidate to be the next defensive coordinator at Tennessee. [https://t.co/wh06t9WoKG](https://t.co/wh06t9WoKG?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) [pic.twitter.com/8f8uWah6AW](https://t.co/8f8uWah6AW?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)— Aaron Coe (@Coe\_Aaron) [December 9, 2025](https://twitter.com/Coe%5FAaron/status/1998499778712547354?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) I read it as, unless there’s something unexpected or beyond his control, he plans to be back — as of today, anyway. The fact that he spoke with the media Tuesday is another indication that he still has both feet inside the door. Coaches are in a no-win situation when asked questions about other jobs. Like most of us, they’re going to consider options. Coaches will often say they haven’t spoken with anyone from a school, but that doesn’t mean agents aren’t running down their mobile phone batteries, listening on a client’s behalf. So Walters didn’t say he was for sure staying, or for sure leaving, as was the case until recently with head coach Jedd Fisch. In Fisch’s situation, I didn’t think the top jobs that were open (LSU, Florida, Penn State) were options for Fisch this year, and I believed UCLA is a step down because of athletic department issues and UC system bureaucracy. I didn’t see a scenario that made sense for Fisch to exit. For Walters, Tennessee seems like essentially a lateral move. Both are second-tier programs in top-tier conferences. UW has a lot of returning talent. If the defense does take another step forward next year, Walters will be a candidate for some decent head coaching jobs. UW may have to find some more pennies in the couch cushions to keep Walters next year, though, as was the case with Ryan Grubb following the 2022 season. Walters’ parents live in the Seattle area, so if all else is relatively equal, that could be the tiebreaker. Assuming Fisch and athletic director Pat Chun are willing to match other offers, I would be surprised if UW is forced to break in a new defensive coordinator for a fourth straight season. “The future is bright,” Walters said. “I think Coach (Jedd) Fisch has done a great job here, just building culture and teaching football and pouring into the players. I think Washington is a place that’s poised for continued success.”