It’s been nearly 20 years since he roamed the sidelines at the Carrier Dome … the Orange sideline, that is.

 

But mention Coach P and the Syracuse faithful know you’re referring to one Paul Lucian Pasqualoni, who coached football on the Hill for 18 years — the last 14 as head coach.

 

He was hired here in 1987 by Coach Mac — Hall of Famer Dick MacPherson — to coach linebackers.  Paul was the defensive coordinator when named in 1991 to succeed Mac, who left for the pros.  Paul’s SU record was 107-59-1 and his .644 winning percentage is the best among Orange coaches who put in five or more seasons on the Hill.  Not bad for a guy who was a walk-on linebacker for Joe Paterno at Penn State and taught elementary school physical education!

 

His coaching career began as an assistant at his alma mater, Cheshire (Conn.) High.  His first college coaching gig came in 1976 as an assistant to George DeLeone (later hired by Coach P at SU).  In 1982, Paul became head coach/athletic director/associate professor at Div. III Western Connecticut State.  Next stop: Syracuse, NY.

 

It’s an understatement to say the 71-year-old father of three has been well-traveled during a half-century of coaching football.  Just since he married Jill while on the Hill in 1998, he’s coached collegiately at Connecticut and Boston College, and is now a special assistant to Florida’s Dan Mullen (a 1998 SU grad asst.).  Paul also served on NFL staffs with the Cowboys, Dolphins, Bears, Texans and Lions.  He’s been a position coach, defensive coordinator, head coach, you name it … He’s a lifer, no doubt about it!

 

That life — from a football standpoint — celebrated many more highs than lows while at Syracuse.  There was his first year here coaching linebackers, when the ’87 squad went unbeaten … and as The Boss, it began 20-4 (11-1 BIG EAST) with teams ranked 11th and 6th his first two years … four conference crowns (two won outright) … four consecutive bowl victories (and a bowl record of 6-3, best of any SU coach).  He was ECAC Division I Coach of the Year in 1992 and ’95, and ’96 ECAC/Lombardi Foundation Coach of the Year. 

 

In 11 of his 14 seasons at SU, two or more players were NFL Draft picks. Seven were first-rounders, among 32 selected.  His players graduated.  The American Football Coaches Association honored 10 of his teams for academic achievement.  SU won the 1999 AFCA Award for a 100 percent graduation rate for the class that began in ’94.  Paul -- whose college head-coaching record at Western Conn. St., SU and UConn is 151-94-1

(.616) -- was inducted into Western Connecticut’s initial Hall of Fame class in 2001.