Wednesday, former Penn State defensive lineman who was a part of the 1982 national championship team, Greg Gattuso, announced that he was stepping down from his post as the head coach at FCS UAlbany to join James Franklin’s staff as a defensive line consultant.
Gattuso led the Albany football program for 11 years and was coming off a 4-8 season that led to a 12th-place finish in the CAA. However, he did lead the Great Danes to an 11-4 record in 2023 and an FCS semifinal appearance. The 62-year-old Pittsburgh native began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Penn State in 1984 and now he’s returning to his alma mater as Franklin breaks in his new defensive coordinator.
There has been plenty of continuity on Franklin’s staff at Penn State, even on the defensive side of the ball where he’s cycled through three different coordinators in three years. However, there has been a bit of a shuffle following the introduction of new DC Jim Knowles, who came to Happy Valley after winning a national championship at Ohio State in January. On Tuesday, Robb Smith, who served as a defensive analyst for the Nittany Lions in 2023 and 2024, announced his return to Rutgers as Greg Schiano’s DC.
Gattuso is back coaching in his home state for the first time since 2010 when he wrapped up a three-year stint as the associate head coach and a six-year run at Pitt. Prior to his time with the Panthers, Gattuso was the head coach of Duquesne from 1993 to 2004 after joining the Dukes as defensive coordinator in 1992.
His primary role will be assisting defensive line coach Deion Barnes, and it is yet to be seen if they’ll be undergoing a significant overhaul to the defensive front under Knowles. While he coached a four-down front at Ohio State, Knowles prefers to play with three-down lineman and an additional linebacker as his base personnel, which he utilized to great success at Oklahoma State and Duke prior to his time in Columbus.