 When it became clear that he would not win the starting quarterback job in 1994, he entered the Major League Baseball Draft, and was selected by the California Angels in the third round.Following stints with the Boise Hawks, the Cedar Rapids Kernels and the Lake Elsinore Storm in the minor-league system, he decided to return to school in 1998, and used his final year of NCAA eligibility playing quarterback at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he led the team to a 10–2 record and a playoff berth.After his graduation from IUP, Failla signed with the Arena Football League's New Jersey Red Dogs in 1999, and with the National Football League's Carolina Panthers in 2000, but failed to record a stat with either team.