Syracuse Football: Former Head Coach Gets New Gig with ACC Rival

According to a report from ESPN College Football Insider Pete Thamel, former Syracuse Orange head coach Paul Pasqualoni is set to join Florida State as a defensive analyst.

The Seminoles just fired former head coach Mike Norvell and are trying to piece things together until the end of the season.

There's no indication that Pasqualoni will be on staff in the future. The Florida State job will be among the most coveted in college football after the year ends. The tradition of the program, coupled with the resources and talented recruiting base in Florida should attract several high-profile candidates with an idea of what their own staffs would look like.

But regardless, it's good to see Pasqualoni back on a field again.

Now 77 years old, Pasqualoni has lived a life in football. He started out as an assistant coach at Cheshire High School in Connecticut (1972) before moving onto Division II Southern Connecticut State. He was the head coach at Division III Western Connecticut State from 1982-86 and then moved to Syracuse as a linebackers coach from 1987-90.

He became the head coach at SU from 1991-04, coaching some of the program's best players ever, from Donovan McNabb to Marvin Harrison to Dwight Freeney. He then coached in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, even serving as the defensive coordinator in Miami before coming back to college and taking over Connecticut for three years (2011-13).

He's had stints with the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, Boston College, Detroit Lions, University of Florida and Carolina Panthers since then. He also has worked in the United Football League (2024) and in high school again (2025). And now, he back at the Division I level.

Pasqualoni didn't just coach some of the best players in Syracuse history, he also put together some of the best teams in SU history. In 14 seasons roaming the sideline, he went 107-59-1 and also put together a 62-33 record in Big East play. 

He took the Orange to nine bowl games, going 6-3, and he also took Syracuse to four conference titles. He had 17 players taken in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft as well.

McNabb was the No. 2 pick in the draft, taken by the Philadelphia Eagles. He is one of the most decorated program alums in history.