Did Kamala Harris’ VP candidate Tim Walz coach football? Minnesota governor’s sports career explored

POTUS Joe Biden’s choice for the 2024 presidential elections, Vice President Kamala Harris, has advocated for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate for the Oval Office. Harris chose Walz over Kentucky’s Andy Beshear and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. With that, the sudden push by the Vice President has put the governor’s life under a microscope. For sports fans, the interest particularly lies in Tim Walz’s gridiron stints.

Did Minnesota Governor and Kamala Harris’ VP candidate Tim Walz coach football?

Governor Walz’s sports history consists of coaching chapters at Nebraska’s Alliance High School and Minnesota’s Mankato West High School, along with a brief cameo with the Minnesota Vikings.

Before he gradually transitioned to politics, Tim Walz was associated with teaching and coaching for nearly a decade. As a teacher, he spearheaded social studies and was the faculty ambassador for the Gay-Straight Alliance at the school. His coaching journey began parallelly as an assistant coach for the Alliance High School’s basketball and football teams.

His first head coaching role came in Minnesota, where he was asked to revamp a struggling 0-27 three-year record at Mankato West High through his defensive schemes. Enduring the dual role of a teacher and a defensive coordinator, Tim Walz moved to the North Star State. He immediately turned the program around by leading it to a state championship title.

“When I took the job, they said, ‘Well, we’re kind of struggling, we’re 0–27,’" Walz said on the 'Pod Save America' earlier this year. “But I had some other coaches I worked with who were great guys, and we said, ‘This is nonsense. Let’s just turn this thing around.’ Three years later, state champion. Now they’re the state powerhouse.”

While his stint with the Vikings was not a coaching role, he was seen at the training camp in the latest offseason, talking to commentator Paul Allen and recalling his defensive schemes from his coaching days and their significance in today’s football.

Sports continue to play an active role in Walz's life

Entering politics in 2006 and being elected as governor in 2016, Walz continues to imbibe his learnings from sports into his life. Moreover, he actively advocates for athletics and remains connected to the sports around him.

One of these instances came when the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves cruised past the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs. Tim Walz celebrated the Wolves’ surge by spearheading "Naz Reid" chants on social media.

Moreover, he then turned around Anthony Edwards’ "bring ya a*s" remark to analyst Charles Barkley by converting the quote into a publicity and tourism stunt. Moreover, he continues to be an avid runner at the age of 60.