Dennis Fryzel

Who is Dennis Fryzel?

Dennis Fryzel was the last head football coach at the University of Tampa. He was the captain of the football team at Garfield Heights High School, where he lost his teeth to on-the-field injuries. He attended Denison University, where he played football and ran track. Although offered a tryout by the Boston Patriots, he was unable to bulk up enough to accept. He entered the coaching ranks with jobs at his former high school, Columbia University, and Williams College, before being offered the defensive coordinator position by Tampa head coach Earle Bruce. Fryzel took over the head coaching position when Bruce was offered a job at Iowa State University the next year. Fryzel coached for two years at the University of Tampa, before the program was disbanded. Ironically, Fryzel, who had become the fourth UT head coach in as many years, had given assurances on his hiring that he intended to serve out his three-year contract, and not use it to serve as a springboard to a higher-profile job. Fryzel then took the position of special teams coordinator with the expansion NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers.