Steve DeBerg

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Steve DeBerg is a former NFL quarterback who played 18 seasons in the league. Born January 19, 1954 in Oakland, California, he went to Savanna High School in Anaheim and played college football at Fullerton College and San Jose State. He was drafted in 1977 in the 10th round by the Dallas Cowboys but was waived before the season. He then joined the San Francisco 49ers, where he started a few seasons under coach Bill Walsh, and later played for the Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, and Atlanta Falcons.

DeBerg was known as a durable, coachable quarterback and one of the early masters of the play-action pass. He led the NFL in completions in 1979 and, in college, earned Offensive Player of the Year honors in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. During a 1980 game with the 49ers, he even used a shoulder-pad-mounted amplifier to call signals after suffering damaged vocal cords. His best pro season came in 1990 with the Kansas City Chiefs, when he threw for 3,444 yards and 23 touchdowns, posting a 96.3 passer rating.

In 1998, at age 44, DeBerg became the oldest quarterback to start an NFL game (a record later surpassed) when he started for the Atlanta Falcons. He was on the Falcons’ roster for Super Bowl XXXIII, though he did not play. Over his career, he threw for 34,241 yards with 196 touchdowns and 204 interceptions, completing 2,874 of 5,024 attempts (57.2%) and posting a 74.2 passer rating.

After his playing days, DeBerg moved into coaching. He was the New York Giants’ quarterbacks coach from 1995 to 1996, led the Indiana Firebirds as head coach in 2004, and later served as a quarterbacks coach for the Tampa Bay Storm. He has been honored by his alma maters, including induction into the California Community College Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1993 and the San Jose State Ring of Honor in 2001, as well as being inducted into the Rebel Hall of Fame at Savanna High School in 2010.

DeBerg married Marcia North in 1974; they had two children before divorcing in 1996.