Buffs Add Sal Sunseri As DT Coach

BOULDER—Sal Sunseri has been hired as the final position coach for Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders' staff at Colorado, he announced Thursday. Sunseri replaces Patrick Hill, who was hired in late January before accepting a job with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings last week.

Sunseri will coach the defensive tackles and comes to Colorado from Alabama, where he served as Senior Special Assistant to Head Coach Nick Saban for the past four seasons and worked with the outside linebackers, also working closely with CU Defensive Coordinator Charles Kelly on that staff.

It was his second stint at Alabama, also coaching there from 2009-11, helping the 2011 Crimson Tide defense become one of the best defenses in college football history. Between Alabama stints, he worked as the defensive coordinator at Tennessee in 2011-12 and as the defensive line coach then the defensive head coach under Jimbo Fisher at Florida State in 2013-14, helping the Seminoles to a 28-1 record in two seasons and the 2013 National Championship. He then spent three seasons with the Oakland Raiders from 2015-17 and one season at Florida in 2018 before heading back to Alabama.

Prior to his first stint at Alabama, he had his first job in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers from 2002-08. He went to the NFL after coaching under Saban at LSU in 2000 and spending the 2001 season at Michigan State. He began his coaching career at his alma mater Pittsburgh in 1985 starting with the defensive line and working his way up to assistant head coach in 1992. He was the defensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan in 1993, Illinois State in 1994 and was at Louisville from 1995-97 as the linebackers coach. He also spent the 1998-99 seasons at Alabama A&M as the defensive coordinator before joining the LSU staff.

He began as a walk-on at Pitt in 1978 and ended his career as a team captain and consensus All-American in 1981. He was drafted in the 10th round by the Pittsburgh Steelers but his pro career was cut short by a knee injury in training camp. He earned his bachelor's degree in communication from Pittsburgh in 1982.

He is married to the former Roxann Evans, who was a varsity gymnast at Pittsburgh. The couple has two daughters, Jaclyn and Ashlyn, and two sons, Santino and Vinnie. Santino is the quarterbacks coach at James Madison and Vinne coaches running backs for the New England Patriots.

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