Former Pitt coach Foge Fazio dies at 71
Former Pitt football player and coach Serafino "Foge" Fazio died Wednesday night. He was 71.
Fazio was head coach at his alma mater from 1982-1985, part of a decades-long coaching career that included jobs throughout college football and the NFL. In recent years, the Coraopolis native served as an analyst for Pitt football radio broadcasts.
Fazio died of leukemia, according to Pitt broadcaster Bill Hillgrove. Fazio is survived by his wife, Norma, and children Kristen and Vince.
"It's not just a sad day for the university, it's a sad day for the whole city," said Alabama linebackers coach Sal Sunseri, who earned All-American honors at linebacker in 1981 while playing for Fazio.
Sunseri's son, Tino, is a redshirt-freshman quarterback at Pitt.
"Whenever I'd talk to (Fazio), he'd say: 'I saw your boy today,' " Sunseri said. "That was part of the reason I felt so relaxed about Tino going to Pitt. I knew the same eyes that watched over me would be watching over him."
Before becoming head coach, Fazio served Pitt as linebackers coach (1969-72; 1977-79) and defensive coordinator (1979-81). During Fazio's years at Pitt, the team reached seven bowl games and had five Top 10 finishes.
Former players and colleagues remember the longtime coach for his skilled defensive mind and his caring attitude.
"He was a defensive genius," said Emil Boures, a Pitt offensive lineman from 1978-82. "The players wanted to play for him, and that was key. ... Even if (a player) didn't turn out to be an All-American or a star, Foge still cared about the kid. He was pretty close with just about everybody who played for him. You can't say that about a lot of people."
Former player Bill Cherpak, now football coach at Thomas Jefferson High School, said he would call Fazio for coaching advice while preparing for games. The two also would go to Florida each winter for golf vacations.
"He was like a friend of the family for life," said Cherpak, a Steel Valley graduate who was recruited to Pitt by Fazio. "He was a Pittsburgh guy. You could tell."
After leaving Pitt, Fazio was defensive cooridantor at Notre Dame. He also coached in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Browns, where he was defensive coordinator from 2001-2003.
Word of Fazio's death reached Mellon Arena, where Pitt defeated Duquesne in basketball.
"It was a bittersweet night for us," Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon said. "Our team sends out condolences to the family. It was truly a tough day, but I'm sure he would be happy with the way we fought."
For the past year, Fazio had been helping Our Lady of Sacred Heart High School start a football program, which will begin play in 2010.
Fazio worked the past two football seasons broadcasting Pitt games alongside radio partners Hillgrove and Bill Fralic, a two-time All-American lineman while playing for Fazio. As his health worsened, though, Fazio quit the broadcast booth following the Oct. 10 game against Connecticut.
"He was a Pitt guy through and through," Hillgrove said. "Even when he was coaching at Notre Dame and the NFL, he always wanted to come home."
As a player, Fazio, a linebacker and All-East center, was named Pitt's MVP as a senior in 1959. Pitt fired Fazio after a 5-5-1 season in 1985 that ended with a 31-0 loss to Penn State. His record was 25-18-3 in his four seasons as head coach.
"Foge used to joke about (being fired)," Hillgrove said. "It didn't bother him. He'd say that he got three degrees from Pitt. He got his undergraduate degree. He got his graduate degree. And, when they fired him, they gave him the third degree. The guy had a great sense of humor."
