Foge Fazio

Who was Foge Fazio?

Serafino Dante "Foge" Fazio was an American former National Football League defensive assistant and college football head coach.

Fazio played linebacker and center at the University of Pittsburgh, and was drafted by the Boston Patriots of the AFL but never played professionally. He returned to Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, where he grew up, to begin his coaching career at the high school level, and eventually moved to the college ranks. He was hired as head coach by his alma mater, Pitt in 1982, having previously been defensive coordinator under Jackie Sherrill, leading the team to a 25-18-3 record in four seasons before being fired. While Fazio was Defensive Coordinator several of his Pitt defenses have been acclaimed as some of the best defensive units in college football history, particularly the #2 ranked 1980 team which featured several players who went on to have stellar and indeed Hall of Fame careers in the NFL, including Ricky Jackson, Bill Maas, Hugh Green, Carlton Williamson and several other notable players. After Fazio's stint as Head Coach of Pitt ended, Lou Holtz then hired Foge Fazio to serve as the defensive coordinator at the University of Notre Dame. At the college level, Fazio also coached at Boston University, Harvard University and the University of Cincinnati.