Q. You've often mentioned the pool of candidates. Can you put context on that and how deep was it?
MIKE BOBINSKI: I think over the course of our six days, however long it was, I've lost track of days or times here, that we evaluated and vetted more than a dozen people, either exploring interest or, in fact, talking specifically to.
So we had a lot, a lot of folks that were in play here over the course of the six days, all really, really qualified and quality football coaches without a doubt. So we were very fortunate.
Q. What stood out to you when it comes to talking to people or seeing Ryan's track record as a recruiter and also a developer of guys?
MIKE BOBINSKI: Sure. From a recruiting perspective, recruiting is relationships. It's the ability to connect with people, relate to people and ultimately close. I think everybody can get a very quick sense of sort of Ryan's ability to relate to people at all levels, and you know, his communication, his authentic personality. I was not in the team meeting last night but those that were, I mean, it's like an instant ability to connect.
And so from that perspective, it was clear to me that this is a coach that can do that as a very, very high level, and the results speak for themselves.
And I forgot the rest of your question, so there you go.
Q. Bringing in the talent and bringing him here is one thing.
MIKE BOBINSKI: So people talk about the success that's happened at Illinois these last couple years. It has not been become of an influx of just high-level players. It's taking a group of guys that were there and turning them into one of the -- one of the, if not best in some categories, defense in the country. That speaks to me very loudly about the ability to identify, develop, put people in the right place and motivate them to perform at a high level, so I feel really good about that.
Q. Can you give us any sense at all on any contract terms? We know it's a five-year deal, the assistant coaching salary pool. I'm not sure if you can at this point, but if you can, fire away.
MIKE BOBINSKI: You know, we'll get all that out quickly. But it's all -- it's all done. In fact, when I called Ryan a couple nights ago, he answered the phone. He didn't say hello. He said, "What the hell took you so long to call me? I already signed the deal."
I said, "Okay, that was easy." There wasn't a lot of salesmanship that had to go in on my part. We are in great shape here. and that will all be available here as it usually is.
Q. Could you give us any insight into what the coordinator pool of money will look like? Last year, the highest paid coordinator hovered around 550,000, whereas Walters who made 1 million over at Illinois, will that look --
MIKE BOBINSKI: That's where he gets his fancy clothes from, big salary (Laughter).
We have provided a pool for Coach Walters that he will be able to allocate it however he wishes and it's really competitive. I think he's really pleased with what he's got to work with.
Q. Listing to him talk about the defense and the smirk you've got on your face, what is it about his defense that gives you that, and how much played into -- you mentioned before, being somebody that's tough to prepare for, how much was that?
MIKE BOBINSKI: I can tell you that when I spoke to my counterpart who is a friend at Illinois who played college football, played in the NFL and knows the game really, really well, as he was describing Ryan to me, he said -- he goes, "He's like a defensive savant. I've never seen anybody put a plan together in real time, make adjustments and reactions to what's happening like this coach can." I mean, he was incredibly complimentary.
One of the things with Ryan, you'll see this as time goes by, if he, in fact, does call it here for a while. He doesn't have a sheet in front of him. He does it with intuition, feel, preparation. That is not your average coach.
It is a different level of sort of owning that defense and understanding how it's sort of something that just evolves as it's happening, and that is different. I mean, it is really different and exciting, and I can't wait to see it, you know, on our sideline.
Q. Did you go into this initially with head coaching experience, thinking that would be a pivotal part of who you wanted to get, and then what about Ryan, if that is the case?
MIKE BOBINSKI: You know, all things being equal, if we found somebody that brought everything else that we believe we see in Ryan and also had head coaching experience, of course. That's pretty -- pretty much common sense but at the end of the day, it was about hiring the person that we felt was the very best for us at the moment in time, and ultimately, had, and in the way I've described it to anybody that's asked me, I think we have hired the person with the absolute highest ceiling of anybody we talked to. I don't think there's a limit to what we can accomplish and what Coach Ryan Walters will accomplish here at Purdue. That's the most exciting thing to me is just the upside is just spectacular. I can't wait to see it start to unfold.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports