Steve Buratto graduated form Clarkston, WA high school in 1961. He attended Columbia Basin Jr. College the following fall and played center on an undefeated team. After just one season at the junior college he was recruited to the University of Idaho to play for Dee Andros.
He was red-shirted his first year and then started every game for the remaining three years at center and nose guard. He was one of the Vandals captains' his senior year and and also won all Big Sky honors at center.
Following graduation from Idaho in the spring of 1965 he signed with the Green Bay Packers and attended their training camp but was released before the season.
He returned to Idaho and accepted a position at Sandpoint HS to coach football, wrestling and track. He stayed just one year at Sandpoint and left to return to Green Bay to make another attempt at playing professional football. After being released by Green Bay he returned to the U of I and worked as a GA for Steve Musseau in 1967 while starting work on his masters degree, which he finished in 1971.
In 1968 he joined Norm Thomas in Twin Falls, ID HS as the defensive coordinator and was also the wrestling coach. Steve coached at Twin Falls for five years before moving on to Boise State to work for Tony Knap. He worked for coach Knap for three years in Boise and then followed him to UNLV where he coached the defense for four years.
In 1980 he moved to the Canadian Football League to coach for the first of three stays with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. In 1983 he went from Saskatchewan to Vancouver, BC to become the defensive coordinator for former teammate Don Matthews. Following a Grey Cup defeat he was named the head coach of the Calgary Stampeders and remained there for two years before returning to Vancouver to again join Don.
Steve returned to college coaching in 1990 when he accepted a position on the staff of Skip Hall at Boise State. He coached the defensive line and special teams for the Broncos thru 1992 when he returned to Saskatchewan to again join coach Matthews staff as the offensive line coach.
The following season he followed Coach Matthews to Baltimore, MD to work for the newly formed CFL franchise in the US city. In the two years at Baltimore as the offensive coordinator the team played in the Grey Cup both years and was the Grey Cup Champions in 1995.
Steve left coaching following the Grey Cup in 1995 and worked in business with his brother for the next four years.
In 2000 Steve returned to Vancouver to again work for the BC Lions. He coached the receivers for a month before being promoted to the head coaching position when the head coach resigned to move on to the XFL. The Lions finished just 8-10, but made the playoffs and had a miracle run at season's end to win the Grey Cup by defeating the Montreal Alouettes. Steve stayed with Lions thru the 2004 season then moved on to Calgary following another Grey Cup appearance.
Steve was the offensive coordinator for the Stampeders in 2005 and 2006; seasons that saw the Stamps return to the playoffs.
In 2007 he joined an old friend, GM Adam Rita, in Toronto to work for Michael Clemons as the offensive coordinator. He held that position for two years and was special teams coordinator in his final season with Argos in 2009.
Steve spent the following season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and finished his coaching career in 2011 by again returning to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He coached over 500 games in a career that lasted more than 40 years.
Steve has three children, son Steve, a professor of chemistry ant UC Santa Barbara, two daughters, Jill and Dina.
Jill has a bail bonds business in Nampa, ID and Dina is a "genius" with Apple in the Boise their store. He has four grand children, William, Daniel, and Rebecca who are Steve's children and Darion who is Jill's son.
Steve has been married to the former Judy Beymer for 34 years and they make their home in Boise.