NY Jets: Remembering the life and career of Joe Walton

Joe Walton's career after the NY Jets

After his nine-year run with New York, which saw the team make the playoffs on four separate occasions, Walton would finish his NFL career working under the legendary Chuck Noll with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Perhaps his biggest and best contribution to football came after moving on from the NFL. In the twilight of his lengthy football career, back in Pittsburgh, Joe Walton helped build the Robert Morris University football program from scratch in 1993.

"The architect of RMU football" was the Colonials' first head coach and led the program to a 115-92 record for two decades from 1993-2013, winning back-to-back NCAA I-AA non-scholarship national championships in 1999 and 2000. 

The coach, who many football greats considered to be ahead of his time and an offensive architect by NFL legends like Y.A. Tittle and Pat Summerall, built an entire football university from the ground up.

The very stadium he coached in is named after him. That's quite a legacy to leave behind. Jets great Marty Lyons said of Joe Walton's passing, "Joe Walton made his mark in life."

He certainly did. 

Thanks for the memories, Coach Walton. Rest In Power.