Steve Walsh, a former promising quarterback who once led the Miami Hurricanes to a national championship and was a Heisman Trophy finalist but had a relatively short professional career.
Stephen John Walsh was born on December 1, 1966, in St. Paul, Minnesota. After high school, he received a sports scholarship to the University of Miami and began his career as Vinny Testaverde's backup. Walsh earned a spot in the starting lineup for the Hurricanes in 1987 and immediately led the team to a championship, becoming the program's second-ever title. The following year, he finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy race and received the Sammy Baugh Trophy for the best collegiate passer. Despite playing only two full seasons for the Hurricanes, Steve set several program records, including most passing touchdowns. In 1999, he was elected to the University's Sports Hall of Fame.
To the surprise of many, Walsh was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1989 supplemental draft, even though the team had already used their overall first pick on quarterback Troy Aikman. As expected, he didn't get a chance to start and only played in five games due to Aikman's finger injury. Shortly after the start of the 1990 season, he was traded to the New Orleans Saints. With Walsh's efforts, the Saints reached the playoffs for the second time in their history, but Bobby Hebert, who had been on strike, returned to the team, and Steve found himself back on the bench.
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Over the next three years, he played in only eight games and was released in the spring of 1994. After that, Walsh's career became a whirlwind as he played for the Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Indianapolis Colts, never staying with a team for more than two seasons. He retired in February 2000, having accumulated 7,875 passing yards, 40 touchdowns, and 50 interceptions over ten seasons in the league.
After leaving the NFL, Walsh ventured into the mortgage lending business. He worked in that field until the end of 2008 when he was offered a return to football. He became the head coach of Cardinal Newman High School in Florida, one of the state's most prestigious schools, and held that position until 2015.
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Under Walsh, the Crusaders reached the playoffs five consecutive times and won one district championship. Afterward, he spent two years as the Director of the IMG Academy in Florida before moving to Canada. There, Steve worked with the Toronto Argonauts and Saskatchewan Roughriders, and since February of this year, he has been coaching quarterbacks for the Ottawa Redblacks.
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