Casullo Returns to Orange Staff
2/13/2009 4:07:01 PM | Football
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Head football coach Doug Marrone is bringing back Bob Casullo to the Orange football staff. A veteran coach with more than three decades of experience on the sidelines mentoring players, Casullo will be SU's assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and tight ends coach. He was part of the Syracuse staff from 1985 through 1994, during which time Marrone was an All-East offensive lineman. The pair also worked together at Georgia Tech for three seasons and with the New York Jets for one season.
“He brings a tremendous amount of experience and a tremendous amount local support as a native of Upstate New York,” Marrone said. “Bob was a coach here when I was a player and we also worked together. He knows the history and tradition of the school and the program. We are fortunate to have someone with his experience joining the program.”
During Casullo's 10-year Syracuse tenure, the Orange had a record of 81-33-4, including bowl victories in five of seven postseason games. In 1987, the Orange enjoyed an undefeated regular season, tied Auburn in the 1988 Sugar Bowl, and was ranked fourth nationally in the final polls. The Orange won a string of five consecutive bowl games, including the 1989 Hall of Fame Bowl (following the 1988 season), 1989 Peach Bowl, 1990 Aloha Bowl, 1992 Hall of Fame Bowl (following the 1991 season), and the 1993 Fiesta Bowl (following the 1992 season). Casullo held a number of positions on the Syracuse coaching staff, including tight ends, special teams coordinator, offensive tackles, running backs, recruiting/personnel coordinator and administrative assistant.
Casullo returns to Syracuse after nine years in the National Football League, most recently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the tight ends coach. In his NFL career, Casullo's teams advanced to the playoffs seven times and to the Super Bowl twice (Oakland in 2002 and Seattle in 2005). He was a special teams coordinator for six years, including four for Oakland (2000-03) and two for Seattle (2005-06), and as a tight ends coach with the New York Jets for one season (2004) and Tampa Bay for two years (2007-08).
In Tampa Bay he was reunited with head coach Jon Gruden, who hired him away from Michigan State as the Raiders special teams coordinator in 2000. In his four years with the Raiders, Casullo mentored Shane Lechler, who developed into a Pro Bowl punter and orchestrated the NFL's top kickoff coverage squad in 2001 and the league's second-ranked punt-return squad in 2003.
At Seattle, Seahawks kicker Josh Brown made 43 of 56 field goal attempts (76.8%), including eight of 13 tries from 50 yards or farther. Brown was named a Pro Bowl alternate following a 2005 season in which he scored 110 points. With the Jets in 2004, Casullo aided in the development of tight end Chris Baker, whom he had previously coached at Michigan State, and Anthony Becht, who was the Jets starter for five seasons before moving to Tampa Bay.
Casullo began his coaching career as a high school coach in Syracuse for 12 years (1973-84) before joining the Orange staff for the first time. Casullo jumped to the college ranks with Syracuse. After 10 years with the Orange, Casullo went to Georgia Tech for four years (1995-98) and then coached tight ends at Michigan State in 1999 before joining Gruden in Oakland.
A native of Little Falls, N.Y., earned his undergraduate degree in physical education from SUNY Brockport in 1973, where was a four-year football letterwinner and earned Small College Honorable Mention All-America honors.
