Sal Sunseri (born August 1, 1959) is an American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach who most recently served as the defensive tackles coach for the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. Sunseri played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, where he was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. Sunseri produced at least one Pro Bowl player in four of five seasons as NFL defensive line coach, highlighted by Julius Peppers's three consecutive trips to Hawaii from 2004 to 2006.

Playing career

Sunseri attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he played for the

Pittsburgh Panthers football The Pittsburgh Panthers football program is the College athletics, intercollegiate American football, football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at ...

team from 1978 to 1981. After beginning his career as a walk-on, Sunseri was a three-year starter and anchored a defense that led the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

in total defense in both 1980 and 1981. During his senior year, he was named a team captain and a consensus first-team All-American. After graduating, he was selected by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the 1982 NFL draft; however, he suffered a career ending knee injury during training camp and was given an injury settlement and released from the team.

Coaching career

Between 1985 and 1992, Sunseri worked as a

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

and

's coach for his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh. After Paul Hackett was fired as the team's head coach during Pittsburgh's 1992 season, Sunseri was promoted as an interim head coach for the final game versus Hawaiʻi—a 36–23 loss for the Panthers. After having previously worked as the defensive line coach for the NFL's

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

for six seasons, Sunseri returned to college football on January 21, 2009, when he was named as the outside linebackers coach for the

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The Alabama Crimson Tide, Crimson Tide competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the Nat ...

team. Sunseri was a 2011 finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top college football assistant coach. 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. In January 2015, Sunseri accepted the position of linebackers coach with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. After one season serving as the Defensive line coach for the Florida Gators, Sunseri accepted an undisclosed position with the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

Personal life

Sunseri is married to Roxann Sunseri (née Evans), who is a former varsity

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at Pittsburgh. The couple has two daughters and two sons. His son, Tino played quarterback for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

. His younger son, Vinnie, played

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for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunseri, Sal 1959 births Living people Alabama A&M Bulldogs football coaches Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches All-American college football players American football linebackers Carolina Panthers coaches Florida State Seminoles football coaches Illinois State Redbirds football coaches Iowa Wesleyan Tigers football coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches LSU Tigers football coaches Michigan State Spartans football coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football players Tennessee Volunteers football coaches Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Steelers players Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh) alumni