Quarterback for the New Orleans Saints during the American Football Conference West game against the San Diego Chargers on 17 November 1991 (Photo by Mike Powell/Allsport/Getty Images)
Steve Walsh has been back at Cretin-Derham Hall as the head football coach for a while now, making a return back to his alma mater.
But it was not long ago that he was involved with the Miami Hurricanes as one of the best quarterbacks the team has had at the helm in the history of the program.
“I had gone from retiring from the NFL and actually had an opportunity to go coach at Miami and passed on it, was in the mortgage industry for eight, nine years, went back and started coaching high school football,” Walsh said to RG. “Did that for eight years, the last two years at IMG Academy. Went up to coach in Canada in the CFL for five years and that was a really great experience. Our family then decided to move to Minnesota; we wanted a different lifestyle for our younger son at the time.”
And it was, indeed, perfect timing, as an opening had just become available that Walsh would go on to accept.
“I got an opportunity at the high school I attended,” Walsh said. “It had an opening at the school for the football coach and so I decided to take that opportunity.”
The rest is history, as Walsh continues this new phase of life. But, he recently took the time to reflect on his experience at Miami and give his insight on where the team stands now
Mario Cristobal and the rising Miami Hurricanes
The Hurricanes were seen as one of the most intriguing darkhorse teams in the nation ahead of the season, and they have very much legitimized that notion as the season has marched on.
A lot of Miami’s success can be credited to the nature of head coach Mario Cristobal, along with the culture and standard he has brought to the program.
Walsh is plenty familiar with Cristobal, who was one of his former teammates, as a person and a professional. In addition to what Cristobal has shown in the mindset he has instilled into his players, Cristobal has also won on the recruiting trail and knows how to correctly fill the voids Miami has had.”
“One of the things he said early on was, ‘we’re just not big’. So, him recruiting some of these guys that have so much more size has been a big part of competing on the national level. When you’re talking about top-10 teams in the country, they have size,” Walsh said.
When it comes to recruiting and roster construction, Walsh and Cristobal have been able to keep a pulse on what makes teams successful in football.
“Teams are built differently than they were 15 years ago — even five years ago, honestly — because of NIL and things like that; where everybody is basically a free agent. But Mario (Cristobal) identified a key need with size, went out and was able to recruit those types of players by any means necessary. That’s what college football is right now.”
Adding a signal-caller was incredibly important for Miami after the failures the Hurricanes had at that position, most frequently with an oft-injured Tyler Van Dyke.
Cristobal’s success, given who his mentors were, is not surprising to Walsh.
“He was trained by arguably one of the best ever in college football. He played for Jimmy Johnson for a minute, but then coached under Nick Saban and Nick had the blueprint of how to win,” Walsh said. “Those blueprints have changed a little but because of the competitiveness of recruiting players, but Mario [Cristobal] was steadfast in what he wanted and this is the way it’s going to be.”
Walsh says Cristobal probably knocked a lot of people off of their high horses on his way to the top, but it has clearly paid dividends for Miami.
“He probably steamrolled a lot of people and egos along the way, but that’s just the ruthlessness of college football,” Walsh said. “He’s gotten the team where he wants it, and certainly that has showed up in their performance over the season.”
Journeyman quarterback turned potential first-round draft pick Cam Ward
Cam Ward was one of the most intriguing Wild Card quarterback prospects ahead of the season, but there are several analysts who now have him in their top three at the position. Some have gone as far as to name him the best quarterback in the nation at points during the 2024 season.
Before transferring to Miami, Ward had flashed into the limelight a few times but could not seem to fully sustain it.
Walsh said he had heard really good things about him since the start of his career before Ward was on the map in the way he is now.
So far this season, Ward has completed 66.8% of his passes for 3,494 yards with 32 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Many believe he will be the first or second quarterback off of the board in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“So, he’s kind of been in the back of my mind, on my radar, so I was like ‘this kid has got some talent.’ What I saw from him early on in one of the first games this season, the first thing that struck me, was that it looked like everybody around him was playing in slow motion,” Walsh said. “He was just so in command of everything he was doing on the field. It looked effortless from him. To me, as a former quarterback, that is when the game slows down and you’re one or two steps ahead of the defense and then you can play at an elite level.”
This process is something Walsh is familiar with himself.
“And I experienced that. My former teammates would tell me ‘that’s the way you played’ and I don’t necessarily remember it. I was just playing,” Walsh explained. “That’s what struck me right off the bat and I think it was the Florida game.”
It did not take long for Walsh to see just how special Ward truly was.
“I don’t know where that was on the schedule, I know it was early. But to me, he was way ahead of the defense,” he said. “And I was like, ‘alright, they’ve got a guy.’ And I hadn’t seen that, since Ken Dorsey at Miami.”
Quarterbacks in the modern era
There have been several trends at the quarterback position over the years. For a while, it seemed the league was trying to create a Taysom Hill-esque type of player at quarterback, but those are few and far between.
And they don’t last. There also have been instances where teams have seemed to overvalue arm strength and physical tools over legitimately consistent accuracy with players who didn’t pan out as expected. Malik Willis and Trey Lance are two names who immediately come to mind there.
The NFL now seems to be trending in the right direction, toward a player who is first and foremost a great passer from the pocket, but who also has the ability to improvise. Not necessarily athletic, but just able to move enough.
Walsh seems to agree with that last one.
“A guy like Taysom Hill is not going to last. You’re not going to invest 40 million dollars in a guy and let him run QB power, because those 10 million-dollar linebackers know how to hit you, and they know how to hurt you,” he said. “So you’re just not going to survive.”
From a dollars and cents standpoint, Walsh also simply does not see it as logical for teams to pursue quarterbacks like Hill.
When it comes to being a long-term, efficient QB in the NFL, Walsh believes it’s all about diversifying the offensive tools.
“Lamar Jackson, who I got to see up close and personal as a coach when he was in high school down in Florida, has developed his passing game over the years. But he still has unbelievable escapability ingrained deep in his talent pool to be able to escape and pick up three to five first downs with his legs on simple dropbacks.”
Having a quarterback with the ability to run on a regular basis does cause issues for opposing defenses, but it comes down to who can truly be solid from the pocket.
“When you have that threat, it does put a lot of pressure on the defense, but ultimately, the teams that are going to go deep in the playoffs at the NFL-level are going to be the ones who can stand in the pocket, move a little bit and throw the ball down the field.”
Accuracy, something that is so typically seen in high numbers from quarterbacks who are first and foremost solid from the pocket, is the most important trait a quarterback can have.
“You have to have elite accuracy to be an elite quarterback. You can have good accuracy and be a middle of the pack quarterback,” Walsh said. “In that case, if you have a great defense and a solid running game, then you’re going to be a playoff team. But, when you get down to those final four teams, you look at those quarterbacks and they’re making high-level throws with guys collapsing around them in the pocket.”
Miami Legacy
Back in its heyday, Miami was a team consistently in the hunt for a national championship. Based on what Cristobal has cooking there now, it feels like we are re-entering that era in which the Hurricanes will consistently be a team to be reckoned with in the postseason race year in and year out.
Walsh does not have any trouble identifying who the best team in Hurricanes history is. That goes back to 2001.
There is some controversy over that, though.
“Some people selfishly argue that 2013 was the best [Miami team in history],” Walsh continued. “I say all the time that our 1986 team was more talented than the 1987 team that won the national championship, but we were a better team and I think Jimmy Johnson would say the same thing.”
How the 2024 team compares with what looks to be a solid place in the College Football Playoff will be something to watch.
Crissy Froyd is a sports reporter of over 10 years who specializes in quarterback analysis at the high school, college and NFL level. She was mentored by Mike Leach and learned the Air Raid offense and quarterback evaluation largely under the legendary head coach. Froyd has appeared in and worked with multiple publications, including USA TODAY SMG, Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports and Saturday Down South. She also covers canine journalism for Showsight Magazine and resides in Wisconsin with her three dogs -- two German Shepherds named Faxon and Bo Nix, and one Siberian Husky named Stetson "Balto" Bennett.
