Craig Whelihan Craig Dominic Whelihan ( born April 15 , 1971 ) is a retired American football quarterback in the NFL , XFL , and AFL . He played college football at the University of the Pacific . High school years . Born in San Jose , California , Whelilhan graduated from Santa Teresa High School of San Jose in 1989 and lettered in football , baseball and basketball . In football , as a senior , he passed for 1 , 314 yards and 11 touchdowns . College years . After graduating from Santa Teresa High , Whelihan enrolled at Oregon State University and redshirted his freshman year . In 1990 , Whelihan transferred to the University of the Pacific in Stockton , California and played on the Pacific Tigers football team from 1992 to 1994 . He ended his college career ranked third on the school ' s list for completions ( 300 ) , attempts ( 591 ) and TDs ( 27 ) . NFL and XFL careers . The San Diego Chargers drafted Whelihan in the sixth round ( 197th overall ) in the 1995 NFL Draft . Whelihan played his first game in Week 8 ( October 16 ) of the 1997 season , in a 31 - 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs . Replacing Stan Humphries , Whelihan completed 2 of 8 passes for 13 yards . In his second game with San Diego , a 38 - 31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 10 ( November 2 ) , Whelihan completed 8 of 16 passes for 90 yards and passed for his first NFL touchdown , a 44 - yarder to Charlie Jones with 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter . Whelihan replaced Humphries as starter effective Week 10 ( November 9 ) because Humphries suffered concussions . In Whelihan ' s debut as starter , Whelihan completed 17 of 29 passes for 206 yards , 2 touchdowns , and an interception in a 37 - 31 loss to the Seattle Seahawks . Whelihan also lost a fumble in the Chargers ' own end zone , and Michael Sinclair recovered the fumble for a defensive touchdown . In the last play of the game , Sinclair sacked Whelihan to seal the Seahawks win . Playing for only the first three quarters , Whelihan had a season - low 22 . 2 % completion rate in Week 12 ( November 23 ) against the San Francisco 49ers , completing 4 of 18 passes for 81 yards and 3 interceptions before Todd Philcox replaced him . San Diego finished 1997 with a 4 - 12 record , including 0 - 7 with Whelihan as starter . In 9 games ( 7 starts ) , Whelihan finished 1997 with 118 of 237 passes completed for 6 touchdowns and 10 interceptions , 21 sacks for 168 lost yards , and 29 rushing yards on 13 carries . Whelihan again was second - string quarterback in 1998 , this time behind second - overall draft pick Ryan Leaf . After Leaf threw his second interception that was returned for a touchdown and put San Diego behind by 19 , Whelihan replaced Leaf in the Week 4 ( September 27 ) game against the New York Giants . In his first drive of the game , Whelihan made a 41 - yard touchdown pass to Charlie Jones ; the ensuring extra point cut New York ' s lead to 28 - 16 . San Diego lost the game 34 - 16 , and Whelihan finished with 6 of 15 completed passes for 97 yards and a touchdown as well as 13 rushing yards in 3 carries . In contrast , Leaf threw 4 interceptions in the game in 15 - for - 34 passing for 193 yards . In Week 6 ( October 11 ) , a 7 - 6 loss to the Oakland Raiders , Whelihan again replaced Leaf late in the game . Leaf had thrown three interceptions , and Whelihan threw an interception in his first drive . Trailing 7 - 6 and on 4th - and - 6 on Oakland ' s 38 with 42 seconds left , Whelihan completed a screen pass to Natrone Means , but Means fell six inches short of the first down . After Leaf completed only 4 of 15 passes and had an interception in Week 10 ( November 8 ) , Whelihan replaced Leaf and had a better performance : 13 of 23 completed passes for 113 yards and a touchdown . San Diego lost 27 - 10 to defending champion and this season ' s eventual champion Denver Broncos . Effective Week 11 ( November 15 ) , Whelihan was starter on a permanent basis . San Diego finished 1998 5 - 11 , just one game better than in 1997 ; Whelihan had a 2 - 5 record as starter . Both of Whelihan ' s wins were by one point : 14 - 13 over Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 and 38 - 37 over Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12 ( November 22 ) . In Week 11 , Whelihan completed 15 of 42 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown , and Whelihan improved in the next game with 19 - for - 37 passing for 279 yards , 2 touchdowns , and an interception . A five - game losing streak followed those two wins . In the season finale on December 28 against the Arizona Cardinals , Arizona linebacker Kwamie Lassiter intercepted Whelihan four times ; one of Lassiter ' s interceptions bounced off Chargers receiver Ryan Thelwell . With 16 seconds left on 4th - and - 20 , Thelwell caught a 30 - yard touchdown pass from Whelihan , and the extra point tied the game at 13 . However , Chris Jacke kicked the winning field goal as time expired , and Arizona ' s win qualified the team for the playoffs for the first time in nearly 15 years . The Chargers cut Whelihan after the 1999 preseason . On January 6 , 2000 , Whelihan signed with the Oakland Raiders . After training camp , the Raiders cut Whelihan . Whelihan played in the XFL in 2001 with the Memphis Maniax and the Chicago Enforcers . Arena Football League career . Whelihan played for three different Arena Football League teams : the Orlando Predators ( 2001 - 2002 , 2004 ) , the Indiana Firebirds ( 2003 ) , and Las Vegas Gladiators ( 2005 - 2006 ) . After Orlando started 0 - 3 , Whelihan led the Predators to a four - game winning streak by June 2001 . Whelihan finished the 2001 season with 224 of 377 passes completed for 3 , 004 yards , 60 touchdowns , and 12 interceptions . Whelihan spent the entire 2002 season on injured reserve . In 2003 , the Predators traded Whelihan to the Indiana Firebirds . In four games ( with two starts ) , Whelihan completed 42 of 73 passes for 461 yards , 6 touchdowns , and 3 interceptions . Whelihan returned to Orlando as a backup in 2004 and completed just 7 of 18 passes for 50 yards . Whelihan signed with the af2 team San Diego Riptide on January 27 , 2005 . Never playing a game for the Riptide , Whelihan returned to the AFL in March 2005 and signed with the Las Vegas Gladiators . With Las Vegas , Whelihan started 2 of 14 games and was mainly a holder when not a starter . He completed 58 of 92 passes for 684 yards , 13 touchdowns , and 2 interceptions . In 2006 with the Gladiators , Whelihan played all 16 games and started 5 and made 131 of 223 passes for 1 , 677 yards , 30 touchdowns , and 11 interceptions as well as 5 rushing touchdowns . On October 29 , 2006 , Whelihan signed as a free agent with the San Jose SaberCats , the AFL team in his hometown of San Jose . In 2007 , he served as the backup quarterback and holder for the ArenaBowl XXI champion San Jose SaberCats . Coaching career . In 2003 , Whelihan became quarterbacks coach at La Costa Canyon High School of Carlsbad , California . He continued in that position until 2005 . Whelihan also studied for a teaching credential in physical education .