1994-2013
The one constant associated with Robert Morris football, Joe Walton was named the first head coach July 27, 1993. He started the program from scratch, completing everything from hiring assistants to purchasing equipment to recruiting student-athletes for the program’s inaugural season in 1994. His fingerprints are all over the program, and to prove that, Robert Morris has played its home games since 2005 in a stadium that bears his name.
During his tenure from 1994 to 2013, Walton led Robert Morris to the first Northeast Conference championship in 1996, guided RMU to a perfect 10-0 season in 2000 and in 2010 helped lead the Colonials to the NEC's inaugural bid to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs with their league-high sixth regular-season championship.
"It's hard to believe," Walton spoke on how fast time has elapsed. "I've said this many times before, and I mean it when I say that this situation is one of the best things that has ever happened to me in my life. It happened at the right time. Before this position became available, I felt I was too young to quit coaching, but I wasn’t anxious to get back into pro football. When this came along, it was the perfect fit. This situation was the perfect opportunity for me to continue to do what I like to do, and I’ve loved every minute of it."
In 1994, after 35 years in the National Football League, Walton took 64 freshmen at a school that never had football in its 73 years of existence and posted a 7-1-1 record, 13 monhs after being named RMU's first head coach. That team won its first game 21 days after the start of training camp and won five straight to start the season.
Under Walton's tutelage, the Colonials claimed outright NEC regular-season titles three times (1997, 1999, 2000) while sharing three others (1996, 1998, 2010). Walton led Robert Morris to back-to-back ECAC Bowl victories in 1996 and 1997, and in 1999 and 2000 he guided RMU to a pair of NCAA I-AA mid-major national crowns according to Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette.
In 2010, Walton added to his legacy by engineering the Colonials on an eight-game winning streak for a share of the NEC regular-season title and the NEC's first bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. In the process he picked up his 100th career victory in the collegiate ranks.
At the conclusion of the 2013 season, Walton's 20th on the sidelines at RMU, he stepped down as head coach of the Colonials and is currently serving as a special assistant to the director of athletics at Robert Morris.
"I wanted to coach 20 years with this program, because it really has been the love of my life, and that's what's important," Walton said.
The winningest coach in NEC history, Walton retired with 114 career victories and a 74-47 record against league foes. Four times he was selected as NEC Coach of the Year (1996, 1997, 1999, 2010) and in 2010 was a candidate for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year.
Walton is one of a select few coaches to win 50 games as a head coach at both the NFL and collegiate levels.
In his time with RMU, Walton helped a fledgling program send three of its brightest stars to the National Football League (NFL). Inaugural running back Tim Hall (1994-95) was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round (183rd player overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft. Former offensive lineman Hank Fraley (1996-99) spent 10 years in the NFL as a player with the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns and St. Louis Rams and is currently the offensive line coach with the Minnesota Vikings. Former defensive back Robb Butler (2002-03), meanwhile, spent the 2004 season with the San Diego Chargers.
Walton had his most recent NFL duty in 1990-91, when he served two years as Chuck Noll’s offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
From 1983-89, Walton served as head coach of the New York Jets. Also among his years in the NFL were two seasons as offensive coordinator for the Jets (1981-82), seven with the Washington Redskins (offensive coordinator 1978-80; running backs 1974-77) and five with the New York Giants (wide receivers 1969-73).
Walton was twice an All-American at the University of Pittsburgh at tight end and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the second round (14th overall selection) of the 1957 NFL Draft. He spent seven years in the NFL as a tight end from 1957 to 1963 with both the Redskins (1957-60) and the New York Giants (1961-63), compiling 178 receptions for 2,628 yards and 28 touchdowns. Upon retiring in 1964, he spent four seasons as a scout with the Giants.
Since returning to the Pittsburgh area in 1990, Walton moved back to his hometown of Beaver Falls, Pa., with his late wife, Ginger, who passed away in September of 2007 after 47 years of marriage. They have two daughters, Jodi and Stacy, and one son, Joe, as well as six grandchildren. Walton currently lives in Beaver Falls, Pa., with his wife, Patty Sheehan Walton, who he married Dec. 20, 2011.
Walton’s NFL protégés include Rich Kotite, Bud Carson, Joe Theismann, Fran Tarkenton, Norm Snead, Ken O’Brien and Richard Todd.
Walton was inducted into the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame in November of 2013 at the inaugural RMU Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner at the Marriott Pittsburgh Airport. He was also a member of the 2013-14 NEC Hall of Fame class and was the 2014 recipient of the Bob Prince Award, presented by Art Rooney, at the Art Rooney Award Dinner in Pittsburgh in April of 2014.
