Engagement Insider
What Darwin Walker learned on the football fields and locker rooms of the NFL has helped him become just as much of a success off the field.
Walker played defensive tackle for nine years in the league after being selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft out of the University of Tennessee. He spent the majority of his career, seven of his nine years, with the Philadelphia Eagles before finishing with the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers.
Now Walker, who was part of the Eagles four straight trips to the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl team of 2004, is a successful businessman and civil engineer in the Philadelphia area, as well as up and down the East Coast.
“Absolutely,’’ Walker says when asked if his football training helped him in his post-NFL years. “Being part of a team, the leadership principles you learn, so much of what you do and learn playing sports, you take with you into the corporate world.’’
Walker, whose playing days ended after the 2008 season with the Panthers, is involved in several different business ventures. He owns and operates several shopping centers in Lexington and Columbia, South Carolina, as well at Atlanta, Georgia, and in his old college town of Knoxville, Tennessee. He’s also a partner in a hotel along the New Jersey shore town of North Wildwood. And is about to purchase a Walgreens pharmacy in the southern part of New Jersey.
“I started getting involved in commercial real estate when I was still playing,’’ Walker said. “It was probably my second year in the league. I was fortunate that I had the resources from playing in the NFL, and I used it to invest properly.’’
He has also used the engineering degree he earned from the University of Tennessee to merge his engineering firm with the top 100-based Pennoni Associates of which he now sits on the board and is one of the shareholders.
Pennoni Associates, established in 1966, is a multi-disciplined engineering and design consulting firm that provides personalized services and solutions to meet the needs of a diverse client base.
Based in downtown Philadelphia, Pennoni has offices up and down the East Coast from the Boston, Mass. area to Norfolk, Virginia and clients all over the world.
“That was a huge step, merging with a company like Pennoni,’’ Walker said. “And being a part of a company like Pennoni, being involved in their business development and being able to make decisions has all been a great experience for me.’’
As a player Walker was known as a two-way defensive tackle, because he’s was a good pass rusher and was also solid against the opponent’s run game.
He’s still using that versatility in the business world.
“I’m not a 9-to-5 type,’’ Walker said. “But I keep busy with everything I’m doing. There are board meetings, different events, some political that I attend. I’m traveling to all the different properties. I am really enjoying what I’m doing.’’
He’s also worked the past three football seasons as an analyst on the Fox television affiliate in Philadelphia, doing work on both the pre-game and post-game shows.
“That’s been fun, and it’s good for me to stay around the game,’’ Walker said.
Because he knows the game is what has helped him as much as anything get where he is today.
“Football, especially in Philadelphia,’’ Walker said, “has made it possible to walk through a lot of doors.’’