Roughriders’ QB coach took long, winding road to job
Former NFLER enjoying latest challenge: coaching QBS in the Great Green North
CALGARY Steve Walsh’s football road is one well-travelled.
Walsh’s football connections have taken him from his hometown of St. Paul, Minn., to university in Miami, to stops with six NFL teams over 11 years, to coaching at the high school level, and now to the CFL.
After a stint with the Toronto Argonauts, he’s now in his second year as the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ quarterbacks coach.
“I’ve had a very interesting career,” Walsh said prior to Friday’s game against the host Calgary Stampeders.
You think?
Walsh’s prowess as a high school quarterback helped him land a scholarship with the University of Miami Hurricanes under head coach Jimmy Johnson. Walsh’s teammates included luminaries such as Vinny Testaverde, Michael Irvin, Bennie Blades and Russell Maryland, all of whom went on to star in the NFL.
Marc Trestman, a future Grey Cup-winning head coach, was Walsh’s quarterbacks coach with the Hurricanes. Trestman had been contacted by Walsh’s high school coach, who said he had a quarterback who might fit into the program. At the time, Walsh was also being recruited by the Iowa State University Cyclones.
Trestman passed along the tip to Johnson, who eventually landed on Walsh’s front porch on a recruiting trip.
“I remember my dad seeing Jimmy at the front door,” the 52-yearold Walsh recalled with a smile. “He opened the door, and he said it was the shiniest suit that he’s ever seen.
“He didn’t have an overcoat on, which wasn’t so smart by Jimmy. (The weather) made the decision pretty easy, whether I could go to Ames, Iowa or Miami.”
Walsh starred for the Hurricanes, leading them to a national title in 1987. He finished fourth in Heisman Trophy balloting the following year.
Miami, at the time, was a largerthan-life institution due to its colourful athletes and winning four national titles.
“As crazy as Michael Irvin, Bennie Blades and Daniel Stubbs were, they all worked hard, ” said Walsh, who was 23-1 as a starter with the Hurricanes.
“Jimmy Johnson got the most out of his guys and they were always willing to work. They worked hard and they played hard.”
Walsh chuckled when asked if he, too, played hard.
“Certainly, because it’s college, and that’s when you experience those things,” he said.
He skipped his senior season at Miami and was selected in the 1989 supplemental draft by the Dallas Cowboys, who had just hired Johnson as head coach to succeed the legendary Tom Landry.
Walsh’s selection was controversial because Johnson and Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones had chosen Troy Aikman with the first overall pick in the 1989 draft.
Walsh remembers Jones handing him a Montblanc fountain pen to sign his rookie contract, which was worth $1.3 million with bonuses.
“Jerry said it was one of the pens he had used to sign when he took over the ownership of the Cowboys, and he wanted me to have it,” Walsh said. “Of course, I said yes.
“The thing with Jerry, is whether you hate him or love him, he’s going to give his team the best opportunity to succeed. He’s going to get the right players, provide the facilities, and then it’s up to you to be able to win the games.”
Walsh started five games while Aikman was sidelined with a broken finger. Aikman eventually took over as the starter, and Walsh was traded to the New Orleans Saints in 1990.
Aikman went on to lead the Cowboys to three Super Bowl championships and has since become the lead analyst on Fox Sports’ NFL game coverage. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
“Troy was a little standoffish,” Walsh said. “There was no animosity, at least not on my behalf. Troy was a little perturbed that they drafted him No. 1 overall and Jimmy still brought in a guy that he had coached in college.”
Walsh became friends with Irvin through their collegiate and professional connections. Irvin would go on to enjoy a Hall of Fame career with the Cowboys and is an analyst with the NFL Network.
“I love the man because, as much as he wants to play and showboat, he worked his tail off,” Walsh said. “He really led us in college because of his work ethic. That work ethic carried over to the Cowboys and helped them become a great team of the 1990s.”
Walsh didn’t share in those glory years with the Cowboys. Instead he spent the remainder of his career with the Saints (1990-93), Chicago Bears (1994-95), St. Louis Rams (1996), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1997-98) and Indianapolis Colts (1999).
With the Colts, Walsh backed up Peyton Manning, who was then in the second season of an 18-year NFL career that included Super Bowl championships with the Colts and Denver Broncos.
“Peyton and I worked well together,” Walsh said “Thursday nights was a big work night. I would watch film with him and talk over the game plan and then I would leave about 7:30 p.m. He would stay until 11 p.m. He was a grinder and certainly that paid off in his career.”
Walsh retired as a player after the 1999 season, having started 40 games. He finished with 713 completions in 1,317 attempts for 7,875 passing yards, with 40 touchdowns and 50 interceptions.
Walsh entered the mortgage business after the NFL, but in 2008 returned to football as the head coach of Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Fla.
In 2015, he worked as the athletic director at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., before heading to the CFL in 2017 as a senior assistant coach with Trestman’s Argonauts.
It was with the Argos that Walsh was introduced to Cody Fajardo, who was then the third-string quarterback and a short-yardage specialist.
In that role, Fajardo scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard run late in the 2017 East Division final against Saskatchewan. Toronto won 25-21 at BMO Field.
Walsh and Fajardo shared in the 2017 Grey Cup championship. Walsh signed with the Riders in 2018 and, one year later, was reunited with Fajardo on the Riders’ staff.
“What I knew about Cody was that he was a man of great character,” Walsh said. “That’s been proven because, even with the success that he’s had, it hasn’t changed him. He’s a great teammate and the team has rallied around that aspect of him.”
Where Walsh’s football journey takes him next remains to be determined. He’s content living in Regina with his wife Deanna and their eight-year-old son, Brayden.
“My aspirations might take me back to the NFL someday,” Walsh said, “but I really like this league and I’m comfortable here.”