Former Palisade High School Football Standout Gets New NFL Job

A former graduate from Palisade High School has a new job in the NFL.

Ben Steele Takes Job With Arizona Cardinals

Ben Steele, who graduated from Palisade High School is the new tight ends coach for the Arizona Cardinals. Most recently, Ben was an assistant offensive line coach for the Denver Broncos.

Ben's path to the NFL took him from playing football and basketball in Palisade to Fort Lewis College, Mesa State College, and finally the NFL. Steele never became a star tight end in the NFL, but he's definitely had a successful career doing what he loves to do.

While at Mesa State in 1999 and 2000, Steele was all-conference for the Mavericks and played in the Division II All-star game.

Undrafted, But Ben Steele Goes To NFL

After graduating from Mesa State, Steele went undrafted but was signed to the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. From there, he moved across the bay to become a member of the practice squad for the Oakland Raiders team that would go on to play Tampa Bay in  Super Bowl XXXVII. Also in 2002, Ben played for the Frankfurt Galaxy of the World Football League, catching 11 passes for 110 yards and 1 touchdown.

It was about this time that Steele returned to Grand Junction to work as a weekend sports anchor at KKCO during the 2002 and 2003 offseasons.

Steele was with the Minnesota Vikings in 2003 and then spent two years with the Green Bay Packers, appearing in 17 games with 4 catches for 42  yards.  Steele has the distinction of being on the receiving end of Aaron Rodgers' first NFL touchdown pass in the final preseason game of the 2005 season. He then finished his NFL playing career with the Houston Texans.

Life After Football Playing Days

After wrapping up his playing career in the NFL, Steele attended the Harvard Business School and received master's credits before returning to Grand Junction to serve as an offensive assistant coach for the Mesa State Mavericks. From there, Steele advanced to Division I to serve as an assistant coach for the CU Buffs and UC-Davis.

Steele joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching staff in 2014, serving as offensive quality control coach and then tight ends coach. In 2019 he served as an offensive assistant for the Atlanta Falcons and was their tight ends coach in 2020. From there, Steele was with the Minnesota Vikings for a year, and in 2022 was assistant offensive line coach for the Broncos. Now, Ben joins the staff of the Cardinals and their new head coach, Jonathan Gannon.

It's extremely interesting to follow the career of a guy with Grand Valley roots, and we'll be watching closely to see what comes next for the former Bulldog and Maverick, Ben Steele.