Miners set to hire Scotty Walden from Austin Peay as new UTEP football coach

UTEP is going young and offensive-minded for its 27th head football coach, as Austin Peay's Scotty Walden is set to take the job.

FootballScoop initially reported the move.

The 34-year-old Walden has been at Austin Peay for four seasons and led the Governors to a 26-14 record, including a 9-3 United Football Conference title this season. He interviewed with UTEP athletic director Jim Senter Sunday in Dallas, one of five people to interview for the job over the weekend.

Senter was not immediately available for comment.

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Other interviewees were UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, Texas Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, Texas Texas associate head coach Kenny Perry and former UTEP offensive coordinator Eric Price.

Walden brings an offensive background to UTEP, as he was an offensive coordinator at Southern Miss in 2020 before going to Austin Peay. This season Peay was 15th in the FBS in total offense and ninth in scoring.

He also brings a West Texas background, as he played collegiately for Hardin-Simmons and Sul Ross, where he graduated from in 2011. In 2016 he was the head coach at East Texas Baptist, leading the Division III Tigers to a 7-3 record before moving on to Southern Miss.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Scotty Walden from Austin Peay hired as UTEP football head coach