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VOLS NAME SAL SUNSERI DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Alabama assistant head coach experienced two national titles with Crimson Tide,
Super Bowl appearance with Carolina Panthers
University
of Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley announced Friday that the
Vols have hired Sal Sunseri as defensive coordinator. Sunseri joins
Tennessee after serving the last three years as the assistant head
coach and linebackers coach at Alabama under head coach Nick Saban,
including the national championship teams of 2009 and 2011. He also
spent seven years (2002-08) with the Carolina Panthers under then-head
coach and current Denver Broncos head coach John Fox, a tenure that
included the franchise’s lone NFC Championship and Super Bowl
appearance.
“Sal has had unparalleled success over the
last decade in not only contributing to team and unit success, but also
in his ability to motivate and develop elite individual talent,” said
Dooley. “His combination of defensive knowledge, recruiting success,
high-energy personality, ability to connect with players, and personal
integrity and character make him an exceptional fit for Tennessee.”
Sunseri
has 27 years of coaching experience, including service as an assistant
head coach and defensive coordinator and responsibility for coaching
the defensive line, linebackers, and special teams.
Sunseri’s
Alabama linebacker corps enjoyed considerable success in 2011,
including Butkus Award finalist, Lombardi Award finalist, and Nagurski
Award semifinalist, and first team All-American and first team All-SEC
performer Courtney Upshaw. Junior linebacker Dont’a Hightower was also
a finalist for the Lombardi, Butkus, and Bednarik Awards as well as the
Lott Trophy while earning first-team consensus All-American and
first-team All-SEC honors.
“The chance to work with Derek
Dooley, who has been around championships and knows what it takes to
build an elite program, combined with the rich tradition of the
University of Tennessee makes this opportunity so exciting to me,” said
Sunseri. “I am fired up to work with all of the young talent on the
defensive side of the ball, and I can’t wait to get up to Knoxville and
coach them.”
Overall, Sunseri’s linebackers were part of a
defensive unit that led the nation in total defense, rushing defense,
passing defense and scoring defense in 2011. The Alabama defensive unit
ranked third in the nation in scoring defense and fifth in total
defense in 2010, and the 2009 Crimson Tide linebackers group coached by
Sunseri included Butkus Winner, AP All-American, and Oakland Raiders
first-round draft selection Rolando McClain. Sunseri was also named the
2011 recruiter of the year by 247Sports.com.
Sunseri’s
seven-year stint with Carolina from 2002-08 included service as a
defensive assistant in 2002 and the defensive line coach from 2003-08,
during which time a trio of Panthers defensive lineman: defensive end
Julius Peppers, defensive end Mike Rucker, and defensive tackle Kris
Jenkins, earned Pro Bowl honors. Carolina made the playoffs in three of
those seven seasons while finishing in the top 10 in the NFL in fewest
yards allowed on four occasions during Sunseri’s tenure with the
Panthers.
Carolina also won the NFC Championship in 2003 with a
14-3 win over Philadelphia in the conference championship game, two
years removed from a 1-15 season in 2001. The Panthers fell to New
England in Super Bowl XXXVIII that season, 32-29. During Sunseri’s time
with the Carolina, the franchise won two NFC South titles and made the
playoffs three times.
Before joining the Panthers, Sunseri
worked as linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Michigan
State in 2001 following a year in the same capacity on Saban’s LSU
staff in 2000. Sunseri was the defensive coordinator and linebackers
coach at Alabama A&M from 1998-99 following a three-year stint as
linebackers coach at Louisville from 1995-97.
Sunseri
entered the University of Pittsburgh as a walk-on in 1978. By the time
his playing career ended, he earned consensus All-American honors and
was the Panthers’ team captain as a senior in 1981. He started for Pitt
for three years from 1979-81, during which time the Panthers went 33-3
and led the NCAA in total defense twice, in both 1980 and 1981.
After
his playing days ended, Sunseri began his coaching career at 1985 at
Pitt. He served as defensive line coach and linebackers coach and was
named assistant head coach in 1992. He subsequently spent one year at
both Iowa Wesleyan (1993, assistant head coach, defensive coordinator,
special teams coach) and Illinois State (1994, defensive coordinator).
Sunseri
and his wife Roxann, have two daughters, Jaclyn and Ashlyn, and two
sons, Santino and Vinnie. Santino is a quarterback at Pitt, while
Vinnie is a defensive back at Alabama who earned Freshman All-SEC
honors in 2011.
SAL SUNSERI COACHING CAREER
2009-11 Alabama, Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers
2002-08 Carolina Panthers, Defensive Line
2001
Michigan State, Linebackers/Special Teams
2000 LSU, Linebackers/Special Teams
1998-99 Alabama A&M, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
1995-97 Louisville, Linebackers
1994
Illinois State, Defensive Coordinator
1993
Iowa Wesleyan, Assistant Head Coach/Def. Coordinator/Special Teams
1985-92
Pittsburgh, Defensive Line/Linebackers/Assistant Head Coach (1992)
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