Vols name Sunseri defensive coordinator

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.