Mississippi Colege Athletics

Chad Walker enters his third season on the Mississippi College coaching staff as the defensive coordinator for the Choctaws.

Walker comes to the Choctaws with a wealth of coaching experience, spending time both at the collegiate and professional level.  Chad worked with the Miami Dolphins in the NFL and coached collegiately at LSU, West Virginia, Louisiana-Monroe and his most recent stop, Bryant University, a Division FCS school in Smithfield, Rhode Island.  Chad got his start under Nick Saban as a student assistant in 2000 as LSU won the Peach Bowl.  Over his career, Walker has worked with great defensive-minded coaches such as Dom Capers, Will Muschamp, Kirby Smart, and Bo Pelini.

Chad spent three seasons gaining experience in the NFL with the Dolphins as a defensive quality control coach working with all positions on defense.  In 2007, Walker worked with the defensive line as the Dolphins finished 4th in the NFL in pass defense.  In 2006, Chad helped with the linebackers as Miami ranked 4th in the NFL in total defense and 5th in pass defense.  That season Zach Thomas was elected to the pro bowl and Jason Taylor was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.  In 2005, Walker spent his first season in the NFL working with defensive backs along with assisting in personnel.

In 2010, Walker served as the defensive coordinator at Bryant University as the Bulldogs finished 7-4 with the two biggest wins in school history over Fordham and #25 Robert Morris.  Chad led the defensive backs and helped guide safety Max Machado to the Northeast Conference Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.  Cornerback Samad Wagstaff and linebacker Jason Riffe landed on the All-NEC Teams, while Riffe led the league with seven sacks. The Bulldogs also had 4 interceptions returned for touchdowns on the year.  Bryant also led the Northeast Conference in pass efficiency defense and 3rd down defense.  The Bulldogs also finished second in the league in turnovers gained.

In 2009, Walker coached the defensive backs as the Bulldogs collected 35 pass breakups and finished 1st in the NEC in scoring defense (17.4 per game) and 16th nationally  along with being ranked 4th nationally in pass defense.  Safety Andre White earned an All-NEC selection under Walker’s coaching.

In his first season at Bryant, the Bulldogs finished 7-4, which is the second-best record ever for a team transitioning from Division II to Division I.  Walker also coached the defensive backs and helped Bryant rank t-12th nationally with 30 turnovers gained and 29th nationally in scoring defense.

Before moving to the NFL, Chad spent two seasons as a defensive assistant on Nick Saban’s staff at Louisiana State University handling quality control duties.  The Tigers won the 2003 National Championship and SEC title (1st in total defense) and played in the Capital One Bowl in 2004 (3rd in total defense).

Before LSU, Walker served as a graduate assistant at Louisiana-Monroe and West Virginia.  While in Morgantown, Chad helped a Mountaineer defense that finished first in the nation in pass defense.

In 2012, the Choctaws led the American Southwest Conference in pass defense, holding opponents to only 224.6 yards per game through the air.  MC came away with 23 turnovers and scored four defensive touchdowns on the season, including three in a 31-24 win over Webber International on September 8th.  For the second straight year, an MC defensive back was named a D3Football.com First Team All-American as Keith Villafranco led the team with 76 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five interceptions and six forced fumbles.  His six forced fumbles led all of Division III.  Villafranco and Alandas Hardy each earned All-ASC honors in 2012.

In Walker's first season (2011), the Choctaws had five players earn All-ASC honors, including three First Team selections in defensive lineman Jarryn Bingham, linebacker Blake Rowell, and defensive back Jarrad Craine.  Craine was named a D3Football.com First Team All-American after leading all of Division III with 21 pass breakups.  Rowell also led the country with eight forced fumbles on the year.  Bingham led the ASC with 8.0 sacks, while Rowell was the top tackles for loss man in the conference with 24 for 117 yards.

A native of New Orleans, LA, Chad graduated from LSU in 2000 with a Bachelor’s degree in Education with a concentration on Kinesiology. Walker’s father Sterling worked with the New Orleans Saints in the 1970’s, while Chad’s brother Tyler, spent the last two seasons as a football graduate assistant at Mississippi College.

Chad is married to the former Robyn Noska and the two have a daughter, Rylie.