Former Alabama safety named defensive coordinator at Conference USA program

The former Crimson Tide safety is back in the state of Alabama.

After former assistant coach Charles Kelly was recently named the next head coach at Jacksonville State, another name with ties to the Alabama Crimson Tide program has now reportedly joined the Gamecocks 2025 coaching staff in Vinnie Sunseri.

Sunseri, who played safety at Alabama during the early Nick Saban years, is set to become the next defensive coordinator for the Gamecocks.

At Alabama, Sunseri was a three-year safety from 2011-13 in which he won a pair of national championships in 2011 and 2012. Over his Crimson Tide career, Sunseri amassed a combined 105 tackles, seven TFL, 1.5 sacks, and four interceptions prior to being selected in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints.

After playing a few seasons in the NFL, Sunseri would return to Alabama in 2019 once again, this time as a graduate assistant. That would last only one season however, as Sunseri then spent from 2020-23 with the New England Patriots staff in the NFL.

This past season, Sunseri was however back in college football as the safeties coach with the Washington Huskies, and will now remain at the collegiate ranks in 2025 at back in the state of Alabama.