Foge Fazio

Serafino Dante "Foge" Fazio (February 28, 1938 in Dawmont, West Virginia – December 2, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ) 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 in 1982, having previously been defensive coordinator, leading the team to a 25-18-3 record in four seasons before being fired. 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.

He moved to the NFL, coaching for the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets before becoming the defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings in 1995. He left the Vikings in 1999 and spent a year as the linebackers coach of the Washington Redskins before his hiring as the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns in 2001. He retired from the Browns in 2003, but was hired as a defensive consultant by Mike Tice of the Vikings in the 2005 season.

Following his retirement from coaching he did color commentary for the radio broadcast of Pitt football games during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Fazio died on December 2, 2009 at the age of 71, as the result of a long bout with leukemia. He was survived by his wife and two children, Kristen and Vincent.