| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1959-08-01)August 1, 1959 (age 66) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Central Catholic (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) |
| College | Pittsburgh |
| NFL draft | 1982: 10th round, 267th overall pick |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Coaching | |
| |
| Awards and highlights | |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season | NCAA: 0–1 (.000) |
Sal Sunseri (born August 1, 1959) is an American college and professionalfootball coach who most recently served as the defensive tackles coach for theUniversity of Colorado of thePac-12 Conference. Sunseri playedcollege football for theUniversity of Pittsburgh, where he was anAll-Americanlinebacker. Sunseri produced at least one Pro Bowl player in four of five seasons as NFL defensive line coach, highlighted byJulius Peppers's three consecutive trips to Hawaii from 2004 to 2006.
Sunseri attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he played for thePittsburgh Panthers football team from 1978 to 1981.[1] After beginning his career as a walk-on,[2] Sunseri was a three-year starter and anchored a defense that led theNCAA in total defense in both 1980 and 1981.[1] During his senior year, he was named a team captain and a consensus first-team All-American.
After graduating, he was selected by thePittsburgh Steelers in the1982 NFL draft; however, he suffered a career ending knee injury during training camp[1][3] and was given an injury settlement and released from the team.
Between 1985 and 1992, Sunseri worked as adefensive line andlinebacker's coach for his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh.[4] AfterPaul Hackett was fired as the team's head coach during Pittsburgh's 1992 season,[5] Sunseri was promoted as an interim head coach for the final game versusHawaiʻi[6]—a 36–23 loss for the Panthers.[7]
After having previously worked as the defensive line coach for the NFL'sCarolina Panthers for six seasons,[1] Sunseri returned to college football on January 21, 2009, when he was named as the outside linebackers coach for theAlabama Crimson Tide football team.[8][9] Sunseri was a 2011 finalist for theBroyles Award, given annually to the nation's top college football assistant coach.[10]
In December 2012, Sunseri accepted a job as a defensive assistant at Florida State University. Sunseri helped coach Florida State to the 2013 BCS National Championship.[11]
In January 2015, Sunseri accepted the position of linebackers coach with theOakland Raiders.[12]
After one season serving as the Defensive line coach for the Florida Gators, Sunseri accepted an undisclosed position with theAlabama Crimson Tide.
Sunseri is married to Roxann Sunseri (née Evans), who is a former varsitygymnast at Pittsburgh.[1] The couple has two daughters and two sons. His son,Tino played quarterback for theSaskatchewan Roughriders of theCFL.[13] His younger son,Vinnie, playedsafety for theSan Francisco 49ers.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Panthers(Big East Conference)(1992) | |||||||||
| 1992 | Pittsburgh | 0–1 | 0–0 | 6th | |||||
| Pittsburgh: | 0–1 | 0–0 | |||||||
| Total: | 0–1 | ||||||||