Kentucky quality control assistant Walt Wells named head coach at EKU
.jpg "Wall Wells was named the head football coach at Eastern Kentucky University on Monday. Wells was a quality control assistant at UK the last two years.")
Eastern Kentucky University didn’t have to look far to find its new head football coach.
Walt Wells, who has served as a quality control assistant under Mark Stoops at the University of Kentucky the last two seasons, was named as EKU’s 15th head coach on Monday. He succeeds Mark Elder, whose contract was not renewed after four years in Richmond.
Wells, a Tennessee native, was an assistant under longtime EKU head coach Roy Kidd from 1997 to 2002. He also was an assistant head coach and offensive line coach for the Colonels during the 2015 season. He was an offensive quality control coach at Tennessee in 2016 and 2017.
“I’m excited to be back and be the head football coach at Eastern Kentucky University,” Wells said in a news release. “This is a place that is very close to my heart, and my wife Jennifer’s heart. Our daughter was born here and I look forward to bringing my son here, too. EKU has a proud tradition and I look forward to continuing that tradition.”
EKU won the 1997 Ohio Valley Conference title while Wells was on staff. He was a tight ends coach at that time.
“Twenty-two years ago I came here and met coach Kidd and his staff,” Wells said. “I learned many valuable lessons that have carried me through my career. I appreciate them pouring their knowledge into me, and I look forward to now passing that on to our team here.”
Wells was the offensive coordinator at South Florida in 2013 and an assistant at Western Kentucky University from 2003 to 2012. He played football at Austin Peay for four years before transferring to Belmont, from where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance in 1993.
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 1:50 PM.
