Florida football fills staff void with this fast-rising defensive coordinator
Florida football added former Jacksonville State Gamecocks defensive coordinator Vinnie Sunseri to its coaching staff for the 2025 campaign. The news was first reported by 247Sports' Matt Zenitz on Saturday morning.
Sunseri will fill the void left behind when former defensive co-coordinator Austin Armstrong departed to take the solo defensive coordinator position with the Houston Cougars. He brings a strong pedigree to the mix in Gainesville and will serve as both co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach.
The 33-year-old also represents the second generation of the Sunseri family to coach for the University of Florida as the son of former Florida defensive line coach Sal Sunseri. The elder was a defensive line coach for a season in 2018 under former head coach Dan Mullen.
Sunseri as a player
The native of Northridge, Alabama, played linebacker for the Crimson Tide from 2011-13, amassing 105 tackles — seven for loss and 1.5 sacks — along with four interceptions and five defended passes. That helped his teams earn a pair of BCS National Championships in two of the three years he spent in Tuscaloosa.
He turned his collegiate performance into a fifth-round selection in the 2014 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints. He spent a pair of seasons in NOLA before wrapping up his professional career with the San Francisco 49ers, recording 11 total tackles in 15 NFL games played over three years.
Sunseri as a college coach
Florida's new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach got his start as a graduate assistant with Alabama in 2019, coaching alongside his brother Tino, who also was a graduate assistant, and his father who was the linebackers coach.
Sunseri then spent the 2020 season back in the pros with the New England Patriots in a support staff role as a defensive assistant before shifting to the running backs corps for the remainder of his tenure. He then moved on to take the role of the Washington Huskies safeties coach during the 2024 offseason before taking Jacksonville State's defensive coordinator offer.
While in Seattle, Sunseri spent time with Florida alumnus and former Gators graduate assistant Jedd Frisch.
Florida's defensive coaching staff
Sunseri joins current co-defensive coordinator, executive head coach of the defense and inside linebackers coach Ron Roberts as the leaders on the defensive side of scrimmage. Roberts was in charge of play-calling last season but that role is presumably not yet set for 2025.
Mike Peterson remains as the edge rushers coach while Gerald Chatman heads the defensive line and Will Harris coaches the team's secondary room.
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