Serafino Dante "Foge" Fazio (February 28, 1938 – December 2, 2009) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

from 1982 to 1985. Fazio was an assistant coach with five teams in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) between 1988 and 2002. Fazio played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

at the

, and was drafted by the Boston Patriots of the American Football League, but never played professionally. He returned to

Coraopolis, Pennsylvania Coraopolis () is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The population was 5,559 at the 2020 census. In 1940, the population peaked at 11,086. Coraopolis is located west of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River and to the east of the Pittsburg ...

, where he grew up, to begin his coaching career at the high school level, and then moved to the college ranks. He was hired as head coach by his alma mater, Pitt in 1982, having previously been defensive coordinator under

Jackie Sherrill Jackie Wayne Sherrill (born November 28, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Washington State University (1976), the University of Pittsburgh (1977–1981), Texas A&M University (1982–1988), a ...

, leading the team to a 25–18–3 record in four seasons before being fired. Several of Fazio's defenses have been acclaimed as some of the best units in college football history, particularly the #2-ranked 1980 team which featured several players who went on to have successful careers in the NFL, including

Rickey Jackson Rickey Anderson Jackson (born March 20, 1958) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints (1981–1993) and the San Francisco 49ers (1994–1995). He led the team's Dome P ...

Bill Maas William Thomas Maas (born March 2, 1962) is a former American football defensive tackle who played for the Kansas City Chiefs (1984–1992), and the Green Bay Packers (1993). Maas was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1986 and 1987. In 1984 Maas was ...

Carlton Williamson Carlton Williamson (born June 12, 1958) is a former college and NFL football player who was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 3rd round of the 1981 NFL Draft. A 6'0", 200 lbs. safety from the University of Pittsburgh, Williamson was ...

, and Hugh Green, who finished second in the 1980 Heisman Trophy balloting. After Fazio's stint as head coach at Pitt, Lou Holtz then hired him to serve as the defensive coordinator at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

. At the college level, Fazio also coached at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

. Fazio moved to the NFL in 1988, coaching for the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets before becoming the defensive coordinator of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

in 1995. He left the Vikings in 1999 and spent a year as the linebackers coach of the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

before his hiring as the defensive coordinator of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

in 2001. He retired from the Browns in 2003, but was hired as a defensive consultant by

Mike Tice Michael Peter Tice (born February 2, 1959) is a former American football tight end and coach. He played college football at the University of Maryland, College Park and spent 11 seasons playing in the National Football League (NFL) before spendin ...

of the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...

in the 2005 season. Following his retirement from coaching he did color commentary for the radio broadcast of Pitt football games during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Fazio died on December 2, 2009 at the age of 71, as the result of a long bout with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fazio, Foge 1938 births 2009 deaths American football centers American football linebackers Atlanta Falcons coaches Boston University Terriers football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Harvard Crimson football coaches Minnesota Vikings coaches New York Jets coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football players Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Washington Redskins coaches High school football coaches in Pennsylvania People from Coraopolis, Pennsylvania People from Harrison County, West Virginia Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania American people of Italian descent Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania Deaths from leukemia