GAINESVILLE, Fla. – As the elder statesman of Florida's new-look coaching staff, 58-year-old defensive line coach
Sal Sunseri has wisdom to share.
He grew up in a large archetypical Italian family in Pittsburgh, the son of a renowned grocer and architect of Sunseri Brothers, an Old World-style market in the city's Strip District. Sunseri went from walk-on to All-American linebacker at the University of Pittsburgh. Panther teammates such as Dan Marino and Hugh Green used to stop by Sunseri's place to hang out and stay for dinner.
Unlike Marino and Green, Sunseri did not find future success in the NFL. The 267th player taken in the 1982 draft, Sunseri suffered a serious knee injury with the hometown Steelers and embarked on a coaching career at his alma mater.
Still, Sunseri carved a path to the NFL, first as an assistant for seven seasons (2002-08) with the Carolina Panthers, and again the past three seasons as linebackers coach for the Raiders. In between those stints, he won national championships as an assistant coach at Alabama (2009-11) and Florida State (2013-14).
Sunseri joined new Gators defensive coordinator
Todd Grantham on Tuesday for a press conference, the veteran coaches' first media session since
Dan Mullen hired them on his inaugural UF coaching staff. The 51-year-old Grantham also has significant experience in the NFL, spending 11 seasons with four teams, including a stint as the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator in 2008-09.
Midway into his press conference, someone asked Sunseri how much credibility their NFL experience carries with young college players. If you need a clue, Sunseri's answer checked in at 877 words.
However, the highlight of Sunseri's remarks was his answer to the follow-up question: Do you impart this message to them?
"Oh yeah, I can if you want to put it out there for me,'' Sunseri replied with a hearty Pittsburghese chuckle.
Undoubtedly, Sunseri and Grantham provide Florida's coaching staff with a pair of seasoned voices that should have no trouble grabbing players' attention when they start talking about tutoring players such as Julius Peppers and DeMarcus Ware.
Â
"Being in that environment, taking men and understanding that it's not just about the money you're making, it's about the performance that you're putting out there on the field,'' Sunseri said. "I think that's where I can relate to these kids and [help them] understand I've been where you want to get to."
Sunseri said Grantham played a large role in him coming to Florida.
After the Raiders dismissed head coach Jack Del Rio and his staff following a 6-10 season, Grantham called Sunseri to gauge his interest in coming to Florida. Sunseri interviewed at Michigan State in the late 1990s when Grantham was an assistant there under Nick Saban. The two have remained in contact over the years and finally get an opportunity to work together.
Meanwhile, Grantham followed Mullen from Mississippi State after making a huge impact with the Bulldogs in his only season in Starkville. The Bulldogs rose from 110th nationally in total defense to 10th, 120th in pass defense to 12th, 70th in run defense to 28th, 98th in first-down defense to second, and 93rd in scoring defense to 26th.
Grantham takes over a Florida defense that returns nine starters and finished 31st nationally in total defense (349.3 yards per game) last season.
"Todd has proven to be one of the best defensive coordinators in the country this decade," Mullen said. "He understands how to build a physical, aggressive defense at the highest of levels."
Grantham started his coaching career at Virginia Tech, where he played for Frank Beamer. Florida is his third stop in the Southeastern Conference as a defensive coordinator after stints at Georgia (2010-13) and last season at Mississippi State.
"I'm going to coach our players the same way I would coach guys in the National Football League," Grantham said Tuesday. "That experience or that coaching I think will allow them, three to four years from now when they go to the league, they're going to pretty much understand the NFL system."
Gators assistant coach
Christian Robinson played for Grantham at Georgia and has already spoken to some of the Gators about what to expect.
Grantham pushes players to get maximum results, which allowed Robinson to excel as a third-down linebacker for the Bulldogs between future NFL players Alec Ogletree and Jarvis Jones.
"My sophomore year in 2010 is when he showed up,'' Robinson said. "The same things he said then he has said to this team. Those goals you lay out there are only attainable through hard work. Coach Grantham has a great track at developing people all the way back to when he was younger."
Combined, Sunseri and Grantham have 21 seasons of NFL coaching experience and 40 seasons at the collegiate level. They have pretty much seen it all, from top to bottom.
Sunseri prefers the view from the top, which is partly why he made another cross-country move to continue on his life's odyssey with the Gators.
"They've won national championships. I'm blessed enough to have three of those rings on my finger and it's not enough," he said. "To come back [to Florida], to go to a great place, a great institution, and get a chance to win a national championship, that's what it's all about."
