Steve Walsh (American football)

Stephen John Walsh (born December 1, 1966) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football at the University of Miami.

Early years

After graduating from Cretin-Derham Hall High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Walsh attended and played college football with the University of Miami Hurricanes. After red-shirting a season and backing up Vinny Testaverde in his second, Walsh posted a record of 23–1 in his two seasons as the team's starting quarterback, losing only to the University of Notre Dame.

He led the Hurricanes to the 1987 national championship (the second ever for the school), as a sophomore, while registering 2,249 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. The following season, Walsh finished 4th in the Heisman Trophy balloting after posting 3,115 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Skipping his final year of eligibility, he left Miami in April 1989 and declared for the NFL supplemental draft.^[1]

A pro-sized passer, he was tied with Vinny Testaverde for the school record for career touchdown passes (48) from 1988 to 2002, before being surpassed by Ken Dorsey.

In 1999, he was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was inducted into the University of Miami Football Ring of Honor.

Statistics

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys surprised observers by selecting Walsh with the second overall pick in the NFL Supplemental Draft,^[2] even though they had already selected Troy Aikman number one overall in the 1989 NFL Draft and had to surrender by rule an equivalent pick in the 1990 NFL Draft, which would turn out to be the number one overall selection.^[3] Walsh started five games as a rookie (picking up Dallas' only win of the season, a 13–3 victory over the rival Washington Redskins), passing for 1,371 yards and 5 touchdowns, while splitting time with Aikman.

Head coach Jimmy Johnson who was also his coach in Miami, reportedly favored him as the starter,^[4] but Walsh was never able to move out of Aikman's shadow and was traded to the New Orleans Saints 3 games into the 1990 season, in exchange for a first, second and third round draft picks.^[5] With the third draft choice the Cowboys selected (#70-Erik Williams), the other two picks (#14-Leonard Russell and #52-Patrick Rowe) were traded to the New England Patriots as a package to move up to the number one overall draft choice to select Russell Maryland.

New Orleans Saints

In 1990, the New Orleans Saints acquired Walsh, because quarterback Bobby Hebert was in the middle of a contract hold out that lasted all season long, and John Fourcade got off to a poor start. He generated high expectations after winning his first game against the Cleveland Browns, while throwing 3 touchdown passes. Walsh passed for 1,970 yards and 12 touchdowns, leading the franchise to its second ever playoff appearance, after finishing the season 8–8 and knocking the Cowboys out of the final playoff spot.

The next year he lost his job after Hebert returned to the team,^[6] and would start only 8 games in the following three seasons, while bouncing between the backup and third-string roles behind Hebert (1991-1992) and Wade Wilson (1993). He was waived on April 24, 1994.^[7]

Chicago Bears

On April 26, 1994, the Chicago Bears signed Walsh as an unrestricted free agent, reuniting with former Cowboys and Hurricanes defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt.^[8] After the third game of the season he replaced an injured Erik Kramer,^[9] posting an 8-3 regular season record as a starter and a 35–18 win against the Minnesota Vikings in the wild card round of the playoffs.^[10] The next year, Kramer regained the starting job and Walsh would only play in one game.^[11]

St. Louis Rams

On April 10, 1996, he was signed by the St. Louis Rams as a free agent.^[12] He started the first three games before being passed on the depth chart by rookie Tony Banks.^[13] He completed 33 of 77 passes for 344 yards and had 5 interceptions.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On April 16, 1997, he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to backup Trent Dilfer.^[14] He appeared in 17 games during 2 seasons.

Indianapolis Colts

On August 11, 1999, he was signed by the Indianapolis Colts to back up second-year pro Peyton Manning. He was released on February 2, 2000. He finished his career with 713 completions in 1,317 attempts (54.1%), 7,875 passing yards, 40 touchdowns and 50 interceptions, for a passer rating of 66.4.^[15]

Coaching career

In December 2008, he accepted the head football coaching job at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Florida. After a 4–6 record in his first season, Cardinal Newman finished 7–4 in 2010 and earned its first playoff appearance since 2005. Walsh coached the team to 10-2 records in 2011 and 2012, before losing in the opening round of the 3A playoffs. In 2013, Walsh led Newman to their First District Championship in 10 years and the Regional Final. It was the school's fifth straight playoff appearance. In April 2015, Walsh accepted the Director of Football position at IMG Academy, replacing Chris Weinke.^[16]

Personal life

In 2001, he entered into the Mortgage Banking business. He returned to football in 2009, when he was named the head coach for Cardinal Newman High School. He is married to Deanna (Lederman) Walsh and have four children together.

Walsh is the uncle of fellow Cretin-Derham Hall High School alumnus and National Hockey League defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who currently plays for the New York Rangers.^[17]

See also

• List of NCAA major college football yearly passing leaders

References

External links

• Hurricanes Hall of Fame bio