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 career
1995–1997
The San Diego Chargers drafted Whelihan in the sixth round (197th overall) in the 1995 NFL Draft. After not seeing any regular season action in 1995 or 1996, Whelihan made his NFL debut 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.
1998–2000
Whelihan again was second-string quarterback in 1998, this time behind second-overall draft pick Ryan Leaf. After a Leaf pick-six 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 with 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 with a 5–11 record, 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.