Written by Mike Treadgold

For Kyle Walters, the opportunity was just too good to pass up.
Late last week, the now-former head coach of the Gryphons football team announced that he would be stepping down from his position with the team to pursue professional opportunities. Shortly after, it was announced that Walters would be named as the new special teams coordinator with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League.
“This is an unbelievable professional opportunity for him to grow in his profession,” said athletic director Tom Kendall. “He did a great job in growing the program to where we expected it to be.”

Credit: Kyle Rodriguez

The offer from Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice essentially came out of nowhere. Winnipeg reached out to Walters at the end of reading week and flew him out to interview for the position. After some serious deliberating with his family, Walters made the decision to leave the program that he has coached for the past four seasons and been involved with since the early 1990s as a player.
“From the initial contact until my decision, it was only five days. It was very quick,” said Walters, who had not been seeking other opportunities prior to the call from LaPolice. “I hadn’t been looking at all. I enjoyed my time at Guelph and I was very happy here and excited with what we were doing and where the program was going.”
Reflecting on his time spent with the Gryphons, Walters had nothing but admiration for the program that has given him so many opportunities to succeed at both the amateur and professional level.
“I’ll always be loyal to Guelph and cheer for Guelph. It was an unbelievable opportunity to get back and coach there,” said Walters. “I would have been content to have an entire career coaching in Guelph.
“I could have seen myself retiring as the head coach in Guelph. My family really enjoyed it here, but the opportunity [in Winnipeg] just seemed too good to pass up.
The players were caught somewhat off-guard by Walters’ announcement, but have offered their support for their former head coach going forward.
“The most difficult part of this was to walk away from the [players] and the relationships that I’ve had over the last few years,” said Walters. “The players were shocked at first. There was some disbelief, but they came up and wished me luck. They understand what an opportunity this is for me and my family.”
As a former Gryphon player himself, Walters has always been recognized as a player’s coach, and is firmly responsible for having turned the team around in the past few years, instilling a positive winning attitude and earning the respect of his players and fellow coaches.
“[Coach Walters] really increased my understanding of the game,” said graduating fifth-year quarterback Justin Dunk, arguably the player that benefited the most from Walters’ teaching. “He always had my back and believed in me as a player. He brought a winning attitude to this team.”
This is not Walters’ first professional coaching opportunity. A former defensive back with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL, Walters went on to be the assistant special teams coach with the Ti-Cats in 2003 before returning to his alma mater as assistant coach and defensive coordinator in 2004-05.
The head coaching vacancy with the Gryphons is said to be one of the more desired positions in Canadian university sport and is expected to draw a healthy number of applicants from a variety of backgrounds.
The position is expected to be filled within the next several weeks in time for spring camp.
“We’re going to fill this position as soon as we can. We’d like experience at this level of coaching,” said Kendall. “We’re looking for [someone with] a clear vision where the program will go and how to get athletes to their full potential.
“We need someone who will fit right into the culture in this city. We’ll be very selective.”