Courtesy of the New York Times
Steve Walsh admits he had “a certain perception” about the CFL when he was playing in the NFL.
His take on the Canadian league changed in 2017, when he joined the Toronto Argonauts as a senior assistant to head coach Marc Trestman.
“I wouldn’t say (his first season in the CFL) was an eye-opener as much as I was impressed by the game,” Walsh said Tuesday from West Palm Beach, Fla.
“Before I decided to go up there, Coach Trestman said, ‘Really, the person who created this game up here really did a brilliant job.’ From an offensive standpoint, you can certainly have more strategy than you can in the States because of the rules with motion and things like that. That really was surprisingly exciting for me.”
Walsh hopes to bring that excitement to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who have hired him to be their new quarterbacks coach. He replaces Jarious Jackson, who now is the B.C. Lions’ offensive co-ordinator.
Walsh, a 51-year-old product of St. Paul, Minn., joined the Argos in 2017 after a two-year stint as the director of football at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Before that, he spent six seasons as the head coach at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach.
His football resumé also includes an 11-year playing career in the NFL.
Walsh began his pro career with the Dallas Cowboys, who selected the former University of Miami Hurricanes quarterback in the first round of the NFL’s 1989 supplemental draft. He also had stops in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts.
He finished his NFL career with 713 completions in 1,317 pass attempts for 7,875 yards with 40 touchdowns and 50 interceptions.
Walsh led the Hurricanes to an NCAA title as a sophomore in 1987 and, the following season, finished fourth in Heisman Trophy balloting. He compiled a 23-1 record over his two seasons as Miami’s starter.
Throughout his time in college and the NFL, he had thoughts about the CFL game.
“Specifically with the quarterback play, I always felt, ‘Well, an athletic guy can go up there and make plays,’ ” Walsh admitted. “That’s not the case. You still have to be accurate with the football.
“Look at guys like Ricky Ray or Mike Reilly or even Bo Levi (Mitchell) who have been at the top of the game up there the last several years. Ricky does it with accuracy and precision and really just brilliance at the line of scrimmage. Reilly can do it all. He’s such a great leader and he’s physically tough. And Bo Levi has just kind of been that gunslinger. But the reality is you have to be accurate.
“That’s part of my job. Usually accuracy begins with your feet and making sure that your footwork is tight. That’s one of the reasons why (the Roughriders) hired me.”
Walsh helped Trestman and offensive co-ordinator Marcus Brady work with the Argos’ quarterbacks. That gave Walsh a chance to work closely with Ray, an established CFL star who helped Toronto win the 2017 Grey Cup title.
“He’s just a consummate professional — always prepared and always early,” Walsh said. “That transcends the border; the guys who are successful in the NFL are the same.
“I worked with Peyton Manning in my last year as a player and that’s the way Peyton was. He’s going to put in the work and, more often than not, it’s going to show up in terms of productivity in the game.”
Now Walsh is eager to share those lessons with the Roughriders’ quarterbacks.
Saskatchewan’s stable of QBs currently comprises Zach Collaros, Brandon Bridge, Marquise Williams and David Watford. Collaros is the most experienced of that quartet, but he has played in only 59 games in his six-year CFL career.
“I know Zach’s a talented quarterback who has had success in the league,” Walsh said. “I’m looking forward to trying to help him as much as I can to get back to the levels he has played at in the past. And Brandon is a very talented young quarterback, so I’ll try to help him improve and become a more consistent performer in the league.
“I’m excited to do my job of working with the quarterbacks and improving the position.”
Walsh’s first regular-season game with Saskatchewan is set for June 15, when his former team visits Mosaic Stadium.
His focus will be to help the Roughriders get off to a good start to the 2018 season, but he admitted that he’ll have a lifelong bond with the Argos’ coaches due to their Grey Cup victory last season.
That goes double for the Argos’ head man.
“Coach Trestman is a man I’ve known for years,” Walsh said. “He recruited me to go to the University of Miami and offered me a scholarship, so our relationship goes back 30-plus years — and it has been maintained over the years.
“I’m extremely appreciative of everything Coach Trestman has done for me as a coach and as a mentor. Being a former high school head coach, to watch how he handled the Argonauts this past season and instilled his vision and culture, that’s something that I will take with me for the rest of my coaching career.”
