Steven Anthony Wilson (born August 24, 1957) is a former

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

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. He played college football at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

. Wilson was most recently the assistant defensive backs/special teams coach for the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. Th ...

of the XFL. He was the former head football coach at his alma mater Howard University, from 1989 to 2001, and

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...

, from 2004 to 2007.

Early years

Wilson attended Northern High School where he played

and wide receiver. He was invited to the North-South Senior All-Star Game as a senior. He accepted a scholarship to play for

, where he focused on playing wide receiver. As a senior, he set single-season school records for catches (94), receiving yards (1,339),

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

receptions (12) and kickoff returns (40). He graduated as the school's all-time leading receiver and kick returner. In 2013, he was inducted into the

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National ...

hall of fame. In 2012, he received MEAC/SWAC Challenge Legend honors. He also was inducted into the Black College Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Wilson was not selected in the

1979 NFL Draft The 1979 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 May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astor ...

and was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

. Although he was initially waived on August 14, he was re-signed on August 29 for depth purposes, after Butch Johnson was injured. He led the team in punt returns as a rookie. He was converted into a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

in his second season, with 11 starts, 48 tackles, 4 interceptions and 41 passes defensed (led the team). In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

, he started 4 games before being replaced with rookie Everson Walls, who received

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

honors at the end of the season. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

, he was moved back to wide receiver before being released on September 3.

Denver Broncos

Wilson signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

on September 14,

, after Steve Foley broke his arm in the first game of the season. In

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, he started 3 games after injuries to Foley and Dennis Smith, forced the team to make changes in the defensive backfield. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, he started four of the first five games because of injuries and finished with 3 interceptions, 12 passes defensed and a fumble recovery. In

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

, he started at right cornerback the last 5 regular season games and all the playoff games, including

Super Bowl XXII Super Bowl XXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for t ...

. He was waived on August, 29, 1988, only to be re-signed on September 28, after the team experienced a rash of injuries. During his time with the Broncos he was a dependable player (missing 4 games) and although he was used primarily as a backup, he was always among the team leaders in interceptions, finishing his career ranked ninth (16) in franchise history.

Coaching career

Wilson led the Howard Bison football team to the Mideastern Athletic Conference and Black College National championship twice (1993, 1996). His 1993 team had an 11-0 record and qualified for the school's first Division I-AA (now FCS) playoff appearance. His coaching record was 78 wins, 67 losses and received MEAC Coach of the Year honors twice (1989, 1993). He spent three seasons as the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

for

Bowie State University Bowie State University (Bowie State) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Prince George's County, Maryland, north of Bowie, Maryland, Bowie. It is part of the University Sys ...

. In 2004, he was hired as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...

Texas Southern Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...

. His coaching record was 4 wins, 40 losses. In 2019, he was named the special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach for the

of the XFL.

Personal life

Wilson's father, Tommy Wilson, played eight seasons in the

(NFL) and was a

player.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Steve 1957 births Living people American football cornerbacks American football safeties American football wide receivers Bowie State Bulldogs football coaches Dallas Cowboys players DC Defenders coaches Denver Broncos players Howard Bison football coaches Howard Bison football players Texas Southern Tigers football coaches Sportspeople from Durham, North Carolina Sports coaches from Los Angeles Coaches of American football from North Carolina Players of American football from Los Angeles Players of American football from North Carolina African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople