Foge Fazio facts for kids
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 28, 1938 Dawmont, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | December 2, 2009 (aged 71) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1957–1960 | Pittsburgh |
| Position(s) | Center, linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1962 | Pittsburgh (GA) |
| 1967 | Boston University (assistant) |
| 1968 | Harvard (assistant) |
| 1969–1972 | Pittsburgh (assistant) |
| 1973–1976 | Cincinnati (assistant) |
| 1977–1981 | Pittsburgh (DC/LB) |
| 1982–1985 | Pittsburgh |
| 1986–1987 | Notre Dame (DC) |
| 1988–1989 | Atlanta Falcons (TE/ST) |
| 1990–1991 | New York Jets (LB) |
| 1995–1999 | Minnesota Vikings (LB/DC) |
| 2000 | Washington Redskins (LB) |
| 2001–2002 | Cleveland Browns (DC) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 25–18–3 |
| Bowls | 0–2 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
|
|
Serafino Dante "Foge" Fazio (born February 28, 1938 – died December 2, 2009) was an important person in American football. He was a player and a coach. Foge Fazio was the head coach for the University of Pittsburgh football team from 1982 to 1985. He also worked as an assistant coach for five different teams in the National Football League (NFL) between 1988 and 2002.
Contents
Playing Days and Early Coaching
Foge Fazio played football at the University of Pittsburgh. He played as a linebacker and a center. After college, he was picked by the Boston Patriots team. However, he never played professionally in the NFL.
Instead, Fazio went back to his hometown of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. He started his coaching career there at the high school level. Later, he moved on to coach college teams.
Coaching at Pitt
Fazio became the head coach at his old school, the University of Pittsburgh, in 1982. Before that, he was the defensive coordinator under coach Jackie Sherrill. As head coach, his team had a record of 25 wins, 18 losses, and 3 ties over four seasons.
Fazio was known for creating some of the best defenses in college football. For example, the 1980 team had a defense ranked second in the country. Many players from that team later became successful in the NFL. These players included Rickey Jackson, Bill Maas, Carlton Williamson, and Hugh Green. Hugh Green even finished second in the 1980 Heisman Trophy voting, which is a big award for college players.
Coaching in College and the NFL
After his time as head coach at Pitt, Fazio continued coaching. Lou Holtz, another famous coach, hired him to be the defensive coordinator at the University of Notre Dame. Fazio also coached at other colleges like Boston University, Harvard University, and the University of Cincinnati.
In 1988, Fazio moved to the NFL. He coached for the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Jets. In 1995, he became the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. He left the Vikings in 1999. After that, he spent a year coaching linebackers for the Washington Redskins. Then, in 2001, he became the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.
Fazio retired from coaching the Browns in 2003. But he came back for a short time in 2005. He worked as a defensive consultant for the Vikings again, helping coach Mike Tice.
Later Life and Legacy
After fully retiring from coaching, Foge Fazio worked in radio. He provided commentary for Pitt football games during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
Foge Fazio passed away on December 2, 2009. He was 71 years old. He died after a long illness with leukemia.
