Bio

Jack Steptoe
Head Coach / Director of Football Operations

Coach Jack E. Steptoe is a veteran of professional football, bringing decades of playing and coaching experience to College of the Desert. As a wide receiver, Steptoe’s career included stints in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers, as well as stops in the Canadian Football League and the USFL before retiring in 1984.

Since taking the helm of the Roadrunners in 2014, Steptoe has reestablished COD as a competitive force in Southern California football. Under his leadership, the Roadrunners have earned 43 wins, including back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time since 2007–2008. COD competed in the 2022 Beach Bowl at Santa Barbara City College and the 2023 Southern California Bowl at Santa Ana College, where Steptoe earned his second Coach of the Year honor, his first coming in 2016.

Player development has been a hallmark of Steptoe’s coaching career. Since 2014, 24 Roadrunners have signed with four-year universities, a number that continues to grow with each season. His teams have also produced 91 All-Conference selections and 20 All-State honorees, including 18 All-Conference and 5 All-State players in 2023 alone.

Steptoe’s ties to Coachella Valley football run deep. He first joined the COD staff in 1984, helping the Roadrunners win the Foothill Conference title and the Southern California Bowl in 1986. From 1994–1997, he served as head coach at Palm Desert High School, guiding the Aztecs to their first Desert Valley League championship in 1997. He later returned to COD in 2003 and then rejoined Palm Desert High in 2005, where he led the Aztecs to another league title and an undefeated regular season, finishing with a school-record 12–1 mark. In 2007, he was part of COD’s historic 9–1 Foothill Conference championship season, the best in program history, which earned the Roadrunners a Golden Empire Bowl bid against No. 1 ranked Bakersfield.

As head coach, Steptoe emphasizes strong football fundamentals, academic accountability, and self-discipline. His philosophy is built on developing student-athletes who not only succeed on the field but also excel in the classroom and beyond. For Steptoe, the greatest measure of success is not championships but seeing his players advance to the university or professional level prepared for lifelong achievement.

Coach Steptoe resides in the Coachella Valley with his wife and is the proud father of three children: Diondre, Eric, and Alyssia. Passionate about both the game and the community, he is proud to once again lead the Roadrunners and continue building a culture of excellence at College of the Desert.

~ Bio current as of August 2025