Paul Lucian Pasqualoni (; born August 16, 1949) is 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 with ...

coach. He most recently was the

defensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive and Defensive c ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. Pasqualoni has served as the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

of the NFL's

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, and as the defensive line coach and interim defensive coordinator of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He was the head coach of the

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

football team from 1991 to 2004.

Early life

A native of

Cheshire, Connecticut Cheshire ( ), formerly known as New Cheshire Parish, is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Cheshire was 28,733. The center of population of Connecti ...

, Pasqualoni attended

Cheshire High School Cheshire High School is a comprehensive public high school serving approximately 1,538 students; it is the sole comprehensive high school of Cheshire Public Schools. Located at 525 South Main Street in Cheshire, Connecticut, Cheshire High School ...

, where he lettered in football and basketball. Following graduation, he continued to

Bordentown Military Institute The Bordentown Military Institute was a private high school in Bordentown, New Jersey, United States, from 1881 to 1973. History The institute was created in 1881, when Reverend William Bowen (minister), William Bowen purchased the Spring Villa Fem ...

, also lettering on the football squad, and graduating in 1968. Pasqualoni then enrolled at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, where he was a walk-on and subsequent letterman, as a

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, p ...

under head coach

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

. In 1972, he received a B.S in

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

and

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

, then finished his education at

Southern Connecticut State Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...

, receiving a

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in physical education and human performance. Pasqualoni began his coaching career in 1972, while a graduate student at Southern Connecticut, as an assistant at his alma mater, Cheshire High School, where he remained for four seasons. After completing his master's degree, he was hired in 1976 as an assistant at Southern Connecticut by then-head coach,

George DeLeone George DeLeone (May 9, 1948 – March 1, 2022) was an American football offensive line coach for Baylor University. Prior to rejoining Temple's staff, where he was once the offensive coordinator from 2006 through 2007, DeLeone was an offensive l ...

, who also served as a future assistant at Syracuse with Pasqualoni under Dick MacPherson. Pasqualoni was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1980, a position which he held for two seasons. In 1982, Pasqualoni was hired away from Southern by in-state school

Western Connecticut Western Connecticut is a geographic region of Connecticut located in the southwest corner of the state. Numerous towns are part of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments (or WestCOG), one 9 regional councils of governments in Connecticut ...

, as its head coach and

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

. In five seasons with the Colonials, he amassed a 34–17 record, and coached the team to a 1985

New England Football Conference Commonwealth Coast Football (CCC Football) was a single-sport athletic conference that competed in football in the NCAA's Division III. It began play as CCC Football in 2017 after the New England Football Conference (NEFC) was renamed following th ...

championship and appearance in the

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

playoffs.

Coaching career

College

Syracuse University

Pasqualoni was an assistant at Syracuse from 1987 until 1991, when he was promoted to head coach after the position was vacated by Dick MacPherson, who left for the NFL to coach the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. The Orange (then known as the Orangemen) enjoyed a number of successful years with Pasqualoni at the helm. The team won the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...

over Colorado in 1992 and defeated Clemson 41–0 in the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

in 1995,

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before his NFL career, he played football and b ...

's freshman year. The team had a 6–3 record in bowl games under Pasqualoni. Pasqualoni's 14-year record with Syracuse was 107–59–1. His only losing season was in 2002 with a 4–8 record. Most seasons of his tenure saw Syracuse competing in the Top 25 in the country. While coach of the Orangemen, Pasqualoni's roots in Connecticut led him to recruit many star players from Connecticut high schools, including Bloomfield's

Dwight Freeney Dwight Jason Freeney (born February 19, 1980) is an American former football player who played as a defensive end and outside linebacker for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Syracuse University, whe ...

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

Tebucky Jones Tebucky Shermain Jones (born October 6, 1974) is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL). His professional career began when he was drafted out of Syracuse University in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft by th ...

and the McIntosh brothers from

. At the conclusion of the 2004 season the team lost the

Champs Sports Bowl The Pop-Tarts Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Citrus Bowl and the Florida Classi ...

51–14. New athletic director Daryl Gross fired Pasqualoni on December 29, 2004, despite Syracuse's president,

Nancy Cantor Nancy Ellen Cantor (born April 2, 1952) is an American academic administrator and the chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark, in Newark, New Jersey. A social psychologist, Cantor is recognized for her scholarly contributions to the understanding ...

, publicly stating that Pasqualoni would be on the sideline the next season. He was replaced by Greg Robinson, who had been serving as the defensive coordinator at the University of Texas. During the 2005 season, the first season in 14 years without Pasqualoni leading the team and the first in 17 years without him on the staff, the Orange posted a record of 1–10, the worst on-field record in the 117-year history of Syracuse football. In 2015, Syracuse vacated all of its wins from 2004 due to ineligible players. As a result, Pasqualoni's final season is officially the first winless season in school history.

University of Connecticut

On January 13, 2011, Pasqualoni was hired to lead the University of Connecticut football program, by soon to be dismissed AD Jeff Hathaway, two weeks after former coach

Randy Edsall Randy Douglas Edsall (born August 27, 1958) is a retired American football coach, formerly the head football coach at the University of Connecticut from 1999 to 2010 and again from 2017 until his abrupt retirement in 2021. He also served as the h ...

left for the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. His two full seasons saw identical records of 5–7 — only his second and third losing seasons as a Division I-A/FBS head coach. He was fired as coach of the Huskies on September 30, 2013 in the midst of his 3rd season after starting 0–4.

Florida Gators

Pasqualoni was hired by former Florida head Coach

Dan Mullen Dan Mullen (born April 27, 1972) is a former college football player and coach, and current television analyst with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and ESPN. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State University from 2 ...

before the 2020 season. He was retained by

Billy Napier William Hall Napier (born July 21, 1979) is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he served as head coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, amassing a 40–12 rec ...

on December 29, 2021, with a new off field scout role. He left in 2022, after being hired by NFL's Carolina Panthers.

National Football League

Dallas Cowboys

Before becoming linebackers coach in 2005, Pasqualoni served as the Cowboys' coach of

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

s for the 2005 season, where he is credited for the continued development of

Jason Witten Christopher Jason Witten (born May 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 17 seasons, primarily for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Univers ...

leading to his second consecutive trip to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

. In 2006, Pasqualoni became the coach of the linebackers, being influential in

DeMarcus Ware DeMarcus Omar Ware (born July 31, 1982) is an American former football outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Troy University and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the 11th overall pick in th ...

's success in that position. On November 8, 2010, Pasqualoni was promoted to interim defensive coordinator resulting from the firing of

Wade Phillips Harold Wade Phillips (born June 21, 1947) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. He has served as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys. He has also ser ...

, as Phillips served as both head coach and defensive coordinator for the Cowboys.

Miami Dolphins

Pasqualoni was hired as the defensive coordinator of the

on January 22, 2008. Pasqualoni was fired by the Dolphins on January 11, 2010.

Return to Dallas

He was subsequently hired as the defensive line coach for the

Chicago Bears

On January 16, 2014, Pasqualoni was hired as the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

defensive line coach.

Houston Texans

On January 25, 2015 Pasqualoni was hired as the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

new defensive line coach. On January 20, 2016, Pasqualoni resigned.

Detroit Lions

On February 7, 2018, Pasqualoni was hired as the defensive coordinator of the

. On January 2, 2020, Pasqualoni decided to step away from football, leaving his position in Detroit.

Carolina Panthers

Pasqualoni was hired by

Matt Rhule Matthew Kenneth Rhule (born January 31, 1975) is an American football coach and former player, who is the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was previously the head coach at Temple University, Baylor University, and for the Carolina Pant ...

in summer 2022 as a defensive line coach. After head coach change, new interim head coach Steve Wilkes fired Pasqualoni along with cornerbacks coach

Evan Cooper Evan Cooper (born June 28, 1962) is a former American football player. He played college football as a defensive back at the University of Michigan from 1980 to 1983. He played professional football in the National Football League (NFL) as a Saf ...

on November 7, 2022.

Personal life

Pasqualoni is married to the former Jill Fleischman, whom he met while coaching at Syracuse University. Together, they have two sons, Dante Paul and Tito Lucian, and a daughter, Cami Mae. He is also the author, with Jim McLaughlin, of the book ''Coaching Youth Football'', .

Head coaching record

‡ The Big East did not begin full round–robin play until 1993

References

External links

Syracuse Orange bio

Detroit Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasqualoni, Paul 1949 births Living people American football linebackers Bordentown Military Institute alumni UConn Huskies football coaches Dallas Cowboys coaches Detroit Lions coaches High school football coaches in Connecticut Houston Texans coaches Miami Dolphins coaches National Football League defensive coordinators People from Cheshire, Connecticut Penn State Nittany Lions football players Players of American football from Connecticut Syracuse Orange football coaches Western Connecticut State Colonials football coaches Cheshire High School alumni Carolina Panthers coaches