Typically at the Big Ten Conference's annual media day, all eyes are cast forward to the upcoming football season, but this year was a little different, as many coaches looked back and reminisced on the late Northwestern football coach Randy Walker.

"He will be missed, not only from the standpoint of a conference commissioner but as a friend," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said. "[Walker] represented a lot of the qualities we like to see in our coaches. He was a tough guy, a fair guy, an honest guy, a great representative of Northwestern and the Big Ten."

Less than six weeks after all of the coaches were in Chicago mourning the death of Walker at his funeral, they were reunited in the Windy City for the Big Ten Media Day, a point that was not lost on Indiana's Terry Hoeppner, who credits much of his career success to Walker.

"It was with mixed emotions that I drove into the city last night, because I was here just a short time ago to pay respects to Coach Walker," Hoeppner confided. "In fact, driving into the city last night, I called his brother Rob, but I know Coach Walk would all want us to move on and we'll do that. I think that will be part of his legacy for sure."

Walker died in his home in the Chicago suburbs June 29, after complaining of chest pains. His death came almost two years after another health scare in October 2004, when the coach checked into the hospital with pain in his chest. The diagnosis then was myocarditis — an inflammation of the heart muscle. The condition is not common and is usually caused by a virus, but it still forced Walker to drastically reevaluate how he was living; Walker said at the time he wanted to "see his grandkids someday."

Walker had shown no signs of regression or further illness until his sudden death, making it all the more shocking to his peers.

"It's been a very difficult month for not only myself, but more importantly for our players," said Pat Fitzgerald, a former Northwestern standout who will take over as head coach of the Wildcats. "Through communication we are going to try and build a bridge to try and get us through … and start to move forward.

"We've all been called to duty with the passing of Coach Walker, and we have to continue to make sure we continue his legacy in the right manner. He was a man of great integrity who stood for all the right things in college football."

Fitzgerald, who becomes the youngest coach in Division I-A, surpassing Wisconsin's own Bret Bielema, has searched for advice from coaches around the conference and country as to how to handle the new job and tedious situation.

"Pat called me when he was calling a lot of coaches around for advice, as he was looking for my input and it is very hard to give advice to anyone in the position Pat's in," Penn State's Joe Paterno said. "The only thing I told him was to put 'I'm the boss' on your mirror. It's not like the old days. You're going to have to hurt some guys' feelings … but you're the boss."

Fitzgerald isn't just searching for wisdom and assistance from fellow coaches; he made it clear he will look towards his corps of seniors to help him carry the burden of steering Northwestern through this turbulent period of unexpected transition.

"I'm going to be a head coach that is going to rely more on his senior class than probably anyone else in America," Fitzgerald said.

However, it could be a very trying year for the Wildcats, as they were facing a rebuilding project even before the mental blow of losing their commander-in-chief. The Wildcats have been picked by several publications to finish at or near the bottom of the conference in 2006 — something Fitzgerald is not willing to accept.

"The talent, commitment and coaching staff are what it is going to take to bring the Purple Pack back to the Rose Bowl," Fitzgerald said. "I have nine fingers left for rings, but that's not the focus right now. The focus is getting through this difficult time in all of our football families' lives."

Still, should things unravel quickly in Evanston, Ill., Fitzgerald could take solace in some advice Walker gave to Illinois' Ron Zook in the midst of the Illini's 0-8 Big Ten season.

"[Walker's] track coach was my older brother's football coach … so Randy and I, in a roundabout way, went back a long way," Zook related. "The one thing Randy said to me before our game last year is, 'you better enjoy it.' And he's right, you'd better enjoy it and understand it is a profession where sometimes you're just thrown out there."