Steve Allen Heiden (born September 21, 1976) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former player who currently serves as the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

coach for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL).

Playing career

College

Heiden played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University (SDSU or SD State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and is the sec ...

and totaled 112 receptions for 1,499 yards (13.4 avg.) and 8 touchdowns.Stve Heiden
Retrieved December 29, 2010 He majored in early childhood education at South Dakota State University.

National Football League

San Diego Chargers

Heiden was selected by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

in the third round (69th overall) in the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

.Cleveland Browns Stats
Retrieved December 29, 2010 In his rookie year, he made 11 appearances for the Chargers and made his NFL debut versus the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

on October 17. In his second season with the Chargers, he made 15 appearances with three starts. He also caught his first NFL touchdown in a game versus the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

on December 17. For the first time in his professional career, Heiden appeared in all 16 regular season and made ten starts.

Cleveland Browns

On August 31, 2002, San Diego traded Heiden to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. He again appeared in all 16 regular season games and made his Browns debut versus the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

on September 8. In 2003, despite missing the final seven league games because of an ankle injury, Heiden had a career-high season with 18 receptions for 134 yards. 2004 was an excellent season for Heiden with 28 receptions for 287 yards and five touchdowns. His three touchdowns in the game at the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

on November 28 were a career-high. The following season in 2005 was equally as productive for Heiden, who surpassed his previous seasons catch and yardage totals. He made 43 receptions for 401 yards and three touchdowns. In 2006, he made 16 appearances with six starts. His numbers for the season were good with 36 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns. On April 14, 2007, Heiden was signed to a four-year contract extension by the Browns. On November 18, 2009, the Browns placed Heiden on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

with an ankle injury after the

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

game. Besides kicker

Phil Dawson Philip Drury Dawson (born January 23, 1975) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns football, Texas Lo ...

, Heiden had played for the Browns longer than any other player on the team. On March 12, 2010, Heiden was released by the Browns. In June 2011 he retired due to neck spurs. He did not want to retire, but felt his life was at risk.

Coaching career

Arizona Cardinals

On February 5, 2013, Heiden was hired by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

as their assistant special teams and assistant tight ends coach. In 2018, he was named assistant offensive line coach. In 2019 he became the teams tight ends coach and served in that position until the end of the 2022 season.

Detroit Lions

On February 2, 2023, Heiden was hired by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

as their tight ends coach.

New York Jets

On January 29, 2025, Heiden was hired by the

to serve as their offensive line coach.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heiden, Steve 1976 births Living people American football tight ends Arizona Cardinals coaches San Diego Chargers players Cleveland Browns players South Dakota State Jackrabbits football players People from Rushford, Minnesota Players of American football from Minnesota Coaches of American football from Minnesota