Steve Szabo (born September 11, 1943) 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 with ...

player and coach. He played football and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

for the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

from 1961 to 1965. After four years of military service, Szabo held coaching positions with 18 collegiate and professional football teams from 1969 to 2011. He served as the head football coach at

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania PennWest Edinboro is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University, a multi-campus public university in Pennsylvania. Located in the town of Edinboro, the campus has more than 4,600 enrolled students. History Edinboro University was founded ...

from 1985 to 1987, compiling a record of 15–15–1.

Early years

A native of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Szabo graduated from Mendel High School in Chicago. He subsequently attended the

, graduating in 1965. While attending the Naval Academy, Szabo played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

from 1961 to 1964 and played as a midfielder on Navy's national championship lacrosse teams from 1963 to 1965. He played as fullback and

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 ...

on the same

Navy football The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) college football. The Naval Academy completed its final season as an FBS independent school (not in a conference) i ...

teams with

Roger Staubach Roger Thomas Staubach (, -; , -; born February 5, 1942), nicknamed "Roger the Dodger", "Captain America", and "Captain Comeback", is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for ...

. After graduating from the Naval Academy, Szabo served four years in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. He was stationed at

Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeaster ...

and served one year in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

Coaching career

Between 1969 and 2011, Szabo held coaching positions with 18 collegiate and professional football teams. These include

Johns Hopkins Blue Jays The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays are the 24 intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Johns Hopkins University, located in Baltimore, Maryland. They compete in the NCAA Division III, except for their lacrosse teams, which compete in Division I. ...

(defensive coordinator and defensive backfield, 1969),

Toledo Rockets The Toledo Rockets are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Toledo. The Rockets compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The ...

(freshman coach and chief scout, 1970),

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

(special teams and linebackers, 1971–1973),

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference. The school's mascot is ...

(defensive line, 1974–1976),

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's and 1 ...

(defensive line and kickers, 1977–1978),

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

(defensive line and kickers, 1979–1981),

Western Michigan Broncos The Western Michigan Broncos are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I program representing Western Michigan University (WMU) in college athletics. They compete in the Mid-American Conference in men's baseball, basketball ...

(assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, 1982–1984),

Edinboro Fighting Scots The Edinboro Fighting Scots are the athletic teams that represent Pennsylvania Western University Edinboro (known before July 2022 as Edinboro University of Pennsylvania), located in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate s ...

(head coach, 1985–1987),

Northern Iowa Panthers The Northern Iowa Panthers are the athletic teams of the University of Northern Iowa. The university is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes in NCAA Division I (Division I FCS in football). History The school's mascot is t ...

(defensive line, 1988),

Colorado State Rams The Colorado State Rams are the athletic teams that represent Colorado State University (CSU). Colorado State's athletic teams compete along with 8 other institutions in the Mountain West Conference, which is an NCAA Division I conference and sp ...

(defensive coordinator and linebackers, 1989–1990),

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisio ...

(defensive coordinator and linebackers, 1991–1993),

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

(linebackers, 1994–2002),

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

(volunteer assistant, 2003),

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

(defensive backs, 2004–2005),

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

(linebackers, 2006–2007),

Colgate Raiders The Colgate Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Colgate University. The teams include men and women's basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming & diving, track and field and tennis. Men's sports include g ...

(defensive coordinator and linebackers, 2008),

Eastern Michigan Eagles The Eastern Michigan Eagles, formerly known as the Normalites and the Hurons, are the athletic teams for Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. The Eagles compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

(associate head coach and linebackers, 2009), and

Illinois State Redbirds The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level ( FCS in football). The football team competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference wh ...

(defensive coordinator and linebackers, 2011), Szabo resigned his position at Illinois State in June 2011 for personal reasons.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szabo, Steve 1943 births Living people American football defensive backs American football fullbacks Boston College Eagles football coaches Buffalo Bills coaches Colgate Raiders football coaches Colorado State Rams football coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Edinboro Fighting Scots football coaches Iowa Hawkeyes football coaches Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Johns Hopkins Blue Jays football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Navy Midshipmen football players Navy Midshipmen men's lacrosse players New England Patriots coaches Northern Iowa Panthers football players Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches Syracuse Orange football coaches Toledo Rockets football coaches United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War United States Marine Corps officers Players of American football from Chicago Educators from New York (state) Educators from Illinois Military personnel from Illinois