#Joe Walton, former Jets coach and Giants TE, dead at 85

Former Jets coach Joe Walton has died at the age of 85, Robert Morris University announced on Sunday.

Walton led the Jets from 1983-89, compiling a record of 53-57-1 and taking the team to the playoffs twice. He is second in all-time coaching wins in franchise history. Walton became the head coach of the Jets after serving as the team’s offensive coordinator for two years under Walt Michaels.

Walton replaced Michaels in 1983 and oversaw a high-powered Jets offense with quarterback Ken O’Brien, wide receivers Wesley Walker and Al Toon, running back Freeman McNeil and tight end Mickey Shuler. That group helped the Jets go 11-5 in 1985 and 10-6 in 1986, making the playoffs in both years.

The Jets faded after that and Walton became unpopular with the fan base, which led to “Joe Must Go” chants at Giants Stadium late in his tenure. Walton was fired after a 4-12 season in 1989.

Walton, who was born in Beaver Falls, Pa., returned to his home area as the offensive coordinator of the Steelers in 1990-91 before starting up a football program at Robert Morris, where he served as head coach from 1994-2013. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2013 and the football stadium there was named for him.

Walton was an All-American at Pitt in 1955 and 1956 as a split end before playing in the NFL from 1957-64. He was a second-round pick by Washington and played for them (1957-60) and the Giants (1961-64). He had 178 catches, 2,628 yards and 28 touchdowns.

When he finished playing, Walton became a scout and

Former Jets coach Joe Walton has died at the age of 85, Robert Morris University announced on Sunday.

Walton led the Jets from 1983-89, compiling a record of 53-57-1 and taking the team to the playoffs twice. He is second in all-time coaching wins in franchise history. Walton became the head coach of the Jets after serving as the team’s offensive coordinator for two years under Walt Michaels.

Walton replaced Michaels in 1983, getting the job 18 days after the Jets lost the AFC Championship game in Miami. After two 7-9 seasons, the Jets made playoff runs in 1985 and ’86, going 11-5 and 10-6 with a high-powered offense that featured quarterback Ken O’Brien, wide receivers Wesley Walker and Al Toon, running back Freeman McNeil and tight end Mickey Shuler.

“He was very creative,” Marty Lyons, who played defensive end on those teams, said Sunday night. “I thought he was an excellent offensive coordinator. When you go from being an offensive coordinator or a defensive coordinator and now, you’re responsible for the entire team, that takes on a whole different picture. I think at times he struggled but so did the team. I think we’re all responsible for what happened with Joe. You can’t just point the finger at the head coach.”

The Jets got out to a 10-1 start in 1986 but lost their final five games of the regular season. In the playoffs, they beat the Chiefs but then blew a 10-point lead to the Browns in the final four minutes of regulation and lost in double overtime.

“As an offensive coordinator, I thought he was one of the best I’ve ever been around,” Walker said Sunday night, “but when he became head coach, I thought he tried to do too much and he tried to control everything. I definitely learned a lot from him. As a coordinator he was up at the top as far as I was concerned.”

The Jets faded after those two playoff runs and Walton became unpopular with the fan base, which led to “Joe Must Go” chants at Giants Stadium that began in 1987 and continued throughout his final three seasons. Walton was fired after a 4-12 season in 1989. Walker said he remembers watching a TV report on the chants and Walton’s wife, Ginger, watching in the stands.

“I didn’t like seeing what the fans were doing to him and seeing his wife supporting him, I literally cried watching that,” Walker said. “I was like no one, no matter how bad you are, deserves that kind of behavior.”

Walton, who was born in Beaver Falls, Pa. returned to his home area as the offensive coordinator of the Steelers in 1990-91 before starting up a football program at Robert Morris, where he served as head coach from 1994-2013. He compiled a record of 115-92-1 there. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2013 and the football stadium there is named for him.

“Look at what he did at Robert Morris, he built a football program and stayed there for 20 years, influenced so many young men to go on and probably be successful in life that they named the stadium after him,” Lyons said. “That’s where he should have been. He was a man of high character. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him as a head coach. You look back now and say it wasn’t the head coach. It was all of us. None of us played well.”

Walton was an All-American at Pitt in 1955 and 1956 as an end before playing in the NFL from 1957-64. He was a second-round pick by Washington and played there (1957-60) and for the Giants (1961-64). He had 178 catches, 2,628 yards and 28 touchdowns as a split end and tight end.

When he finished playing, Walton became a scout and wide receivers coach for the Giants before becoming the running backs coach with Washington in 1974. He ascended to offensive coordinator there, overseeing the development of quarterback Joe Theismann before joining Michaels’ staff in 1981.

wide receivers coach for the Giants before becoming the running backs coach with Washington in 1974. He ascended to offensive coordinator there, overseeing the development of quarterback Joe Theismann before joining Michaels’ staff in 1981.