ST PAUL, Minn. — Life has come full circle for Steve Walsh.
The former Cretin-Derham Hall star quarterback in 1984 is now coming home to coach the Raiders some 38 years later.
It all started on the football fields of St. Paul in the early 80s. Walsh, wearing his no. 3 jersey, developed into a highly touted drop-back, pro-style quarterback. One of the best in the country.
So good, he earned a scholarship to play for coach Jimmy Johnson and the Miami Hurricanes in 1985.
Thus the beginning of a long, successful football career, both in college and the NFL, away from Minnesota and CDH, but never forgotten.
“It’s a school I've had a relationship with over 40 years..it wasn't just my four years of high school," Walsh says. "It was 40 years that I've been involved. Certainly my father went there, my younger brother, and I had eight nieces and nephews go there. I've been involved almost every year of my life since I graduated."
Once a Raider, always a Raider.
Steve will bring a mountain of experience to the job, from winning a college national championship for Miami in 1987, to surviving an interview with me in 1989, prior to the NFL supplemental draft.
He played 11 years in the NFL, with Dallas, New Orleans, Chicago, and three other teams, none of which were the Vikings.
He coached high school in Florida, and coached in the Canadian Football League until getting the Raiders job in December.
"First and foremost, we had made the decision to move from Florida back to Minnesota, and that was really driven because of my mom and dad…they're in their 80s...and really my wife and I have a 10-year-old, and to be around grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles and cousins — it was really a decision to move back to Minnesota for family."
Speaking of family, KARE was there in 1989 when Steve's family watched his first NFL start with Dallas versus Green Bay at Lambeau field — a special day for this local football great and the family who loves him.
So what about taking over the Cretin football job? A program which opted in 2021 to drop down from Class 6A to 5A.
Cretin is rich in football tradition, but it needs a boost.
“My feeling is it's been done before, it can be done again, Walsh said while also acknowledging, "the landscape is totally different."
Meaning numbers are down from feeder schools, and the assault on football in general has diminished numbers too.
But Walsh only cares about what he can control, and that starts with how he teaches the game to those young players.
"My goal, yeah if you want to play college football, great, I want to try to help you get there, but my ultimate goal is to give you such a great experience teaching you this game that some day you can teach your son, and maybe coach your son, and do a pretty decent job at it," Walsh said.
Get ready Raiders, class is in session starting mid-June. It should be fun.