Florida football coach Billy Napier has found his next co-defensive coordinator in a familiar face.
Reports on Saturday indicated that Napier hired Jacksonville State defensive coordinator Vinnie Sunseri as the team’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Sunseri will replace Austin Armstrong, who took the defensive coordinator position at Houston earlier in the offseason.
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Sunseri will work with executive head coach of the defense and inside linebackers coach Ron Roberts, who is entering his second season with the Gators.
Sunseri, who will have his first coordinator job with the Gators, was hired as the defensive coordinator by the Gamecocks on Jan. 2 by first-year coach Charles Kelly. He did not last long in Jacksonville, Alabama, heading to Florida, where his father, Sal Sunseri, served on the coaching staff.
The former Alabama Crimson Tide standout brings championship experience to Napier’s staff. Sunseri, 33, was on the 2011 and 2012 national championship teams for the Crimson Tide as a safety.
Here’s what you need to know about Sunseri’s coaching career, including his coaching stops and history as a player:
Who is Vinnie Sunseri?
Sunseri won two national championships as a safety for Saban and Alabama from 2011 to 2013. He crossed paths with Napier while he was with Alabama in 2011 and when he rejoined Saban’s staff in 2013. The Crimson Tide won the 2011 and 2012 national championships.
After his collegiate career, Sunseri was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He recorded stats in two NFL seasons before returning to Alabama as a graduate assistant. Despite never playing in an NFL game with the New England Patriots in 2016, Bill Belichick hired him as a defensive assistant in 2020 and then as the running backs coach from 2021 to 2023.
Sunseri returned to college football in 2024 as a safeties coach under defensive coordinator Steve Belichick at Washington, who former Florida graduate assistant Jedd Fisch brought on in his first season with the Huskies.
Following the 2024 season, he was hired by Jacksonville State as its defensive coordinator under first-year head coach Charles Kelly. Kelly had replaced Rich Rodriguez, who had taken a job at his alma mater, West Virginia.
Sunseri is the son of Sal Sunseri, a former All-America linebacker at Pitt in 1981. Sal Sunseri served as Florida’s defensive line coach in 2018, under then-coach Dan Mullen.
Vinnie Sunseri coaching stops
Here’s a look at Sunseri’s coaching stops, including a stint in the NFL with the New England Patriots.
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2019 (Alabama): Graduate assistant
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2020 (New England Patriots): Defensive coaching assistant
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2021-23 (New England Patriots): Running backs coach
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2024 (Washington): Safeties coach
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2025 (Jacksonville State): Defensive coordinator
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2025-present (Florida): Co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach
Vinnie Sunseri college stats
Here’s a look at Sunseri’s stats with Alabama from 2011-13:
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2011: 31 total tackles, one fumble recovery and one pass deflection
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2012: 54 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, six tackles for loss and two interceptions
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2013: 20 total tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions, two interceptions returned for touchdowns and four pass deflections
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Career: 105 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, four interceptions, two interceptions returned for touchdowns, five pass deflections and one fumble recovery
Vinnie Sunseri NFL stats
The New Orleans Saints drafted Sunseri in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft. Sunseri played in two NFL seasons and recorded stats with the Saints (2014) and the San Francisco 49ers (2016).
Here’s a look at Sunseri’s NFL stats:
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2014 (New Orleans Saints): Nine games played, five total tackles
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2016 (San Francisco 49ers): Six games played, six total tackles
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Career: 15 games played, 11 total tackles
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Who is Vinnie Sunseri? What to know of Florida’s new coordinator
