“When I started the process, I stated I wanted someone with ‘fire in the belly and excited for this opportunity’. DeWayne Walker is excited and has fire in the belly,” McKinley says. “His coaching pedigree and experience speaks for itself.”

DeWayne spent the first couple of weeks at NMSU getting to know the football program and hiring staff. After meeting with his staff for the first time and reviewing tapes, Boston says he was impressed by the potential of the team.

“There is a lot more talent on this team than I was led to believe,” DeWayne says. “They are hungry.”

DeWayne, 48, came to NMSU with the intention of changing the culture while learning about everyone on the team. He takes over a team that was 3-9 in 2008 and lost its last seven games, with the intention of leading the team to a bowl game for the first time since 1960.

“When you have a losing record, the first thing you want to do is change the mentality,” DeWayne says, who replaces Hal Mumme, Aggie coach from 2004 to 2007. “We are going to work on team building and establish a vision and work ethic they can believe in and build on successfully.”

DeWayne has been a part of the coaching ranks for 21 years at both the collegiate and professional levels. Most recently, he was in his third season as UCLA’s defensive coordinator. In addition, he served as UCLA’s interim head coach for the 2007 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl game. His professional coaching résumé includes stops with the Washington Redskins, New York Giants and the New England Patriots.

He also participated in the NFL’s minority coaching internship program, working with the San Francisco 49ers in 1996 and the Patriots in 1997. A former cornerback himself, DeWayne played three seasons professionally – one in the CFL (Edmonton Eskimos in 1982) and two in the USFL (Oakland Invaders in 1984 and Arizona Outlaws in 1985). In college, he was a two-year starter at Minnesota (1980-81) after playing at Pasadena City College for two years. DeWayne received his Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Regents College in Albany, NY, in 1992.

“I want to encourage everyone to come out and support us,” DeWayne says. “I have been on the field with 90,000 and 100,000 fans in the stadium and the energy level is amazing. If we can get the stands packed, we can have that same type of energy level.”

DeWayne Walker and his wife, Zan, have two daughters, Kesha and Kendra, and one son Kevan.

“This is a great opportunity for myself and my family,” DeWayne says. “As long as I have coached you always want to see your vision and formula put to work and I’m thankful and grateful to New Mexico State University for giving me this opportunity to put together a good staff and begin to flip this program around.”