Steve Bird


Steve Bird is currently an assistant coach for the South Carolina State Bulldogs football team. He played in the NFL and CFL for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, Edmonton Eskimos, and Montreal Alouettes. He played college football for Eastern Kentucky University. The Cardinals chose him in the fifth round of the 1983 NFL Draft.

College career

Bird was a three-year starter at wide receiver for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and played in four consecutive Division I-AA national championship games ; the Colonels won in 1979 and 1982. Bird was a first-team All-OVC choice in 1982 when he was also selected to the I-AA All-American team by Kodak, The Sporting News and the Associated Press. He was also chosen as the OVC’s Male Athlete of the Year for 1982–83. In 1982, he led the OVC with 63 receptions for 1,056 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Eastern Kentucky Hall of Fame in 2010.

Professional career

Bird was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1983 and played for the Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, Edmonton Eskimos and Montreal Alouettes.

Coaching career

Bird returned to EKU in 1987 as a wide receivers coach. He went on to work as a graduate assistant coach at Kentucky and Tennessee, before joining Pittsburgh as a wide receivers coach. He was also an assistant at Kent State, Tulane and Middle Tennessee before joining the West Virginia coaching staff where, from 2001 to 2004, he served as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. At Eastern Kentucky, he coached tight ends in 2005 and wide receivers in 2006. He was at Bowling Green in 2007 and 2008 and joined the South Florida coaching staff in 2009. In 2013, he was hired at South Carolina State.

Personal

His father, Jerry Bird, played basketball at Kentucky.