Paul Pasqualoni is headed back to college football.
The former Syracuse coach will join Florida State next week as a defensive analyst, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Thamel reported the move through anonymous sources, saying Pasqualoni is set to help the Seminoles’ defensive staff.
At 77, Pasqualoni is stepping into a Florida State program that has been scrambling to fill out its coaching ranks after the firing of head coach Mike Norvell. The Seminoles also moved on from defensive coordinator Tony White, a former Syracuse coordinator, and safeties coach Evan Cooper.
Florida State is now being led on an interim basis by Rick Stockstill, who was promoted from offensive analyst. Stockstill, a former FSU quarterback, spent 18 years as the head coach at Middle Tennessee.
The Seminoles made the change after opening the season 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the ACC.
With White gone, Florida State’s defense is now being directed by Ernie Sims III, the former NFL first-round draft pick who had been serving as the team’s linebackers coach.
Pasqualoni had most recently been working as an assistant coach at Avon Old Farms High School, a prep school near his home in Connecticut, according to Thamel.
His return to the college game will also bring him to a familiar place this week. Florida State plays Boston College, where Pasqualoni’s son Tito and daughter Cami are both on Bill O’Brien’s staff.
Pasqualoni’s name still carries real weight in Syracuse. He coached there from 1987 to 2004, serving first as an assistant and then taking over as head coach from Dick MacPherson in 1991.
Over his 14 seasons at Syracuse, Pasqualoni finished 107-59-1, winning more games there than any coach in school history except Ben Schwartzwalder. He also owns the best winning percentage of any Syracuse coach since World War II.
He was on the sideline during an era that included some of the biggest names in the program’s history, including Donovan McNabb and Dwight Freeney.
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