February 26, 1999

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Steve Addazio, a member of the Syracuse football staff the last four seasons when he coached with recently-hired Irish offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers, has joined Bob Davie’s Notre Dame football coaching.

Addazio will work with the Irish tight ends, assist with the offensive tackles – and also share duties with the Irish special teams.

The 39-year-old Waterbury, Conn., native coached the entire Orange offensive line in ’97 and ’98, after working with the Syracuse tight ends and assisting with the offensive line his first two years (1995-96). He took over all the Orange offensive line responsibilities beginning in ’97 after Syracuse assistant George DeLeone left to join the NFL San Diego Chargers staff.

Addazio’s offensive line helped Syracuse rank 10th nationally in rushing in ’98 (228.4 yards per game), third in scoring (42.5) and 22nd in total offense (430.), while leading the BIG EAST Conference in both rushing and scoring. In ’97, Syracuse led the conference in scoring (11th nationally at 35.3) and total offense (15th at 427.3) and ranked 23rd nationally in rushing at 201.4 per game. In ’98 he coached first-team all-BIG EAST guard Scott Kiernan.

Syracuse set school records for total offense in ’97 (5,127 yards) and scoring in ’98 (468 points) — while sharing the league title in ’96 and winning it outright in ’97 and ’98.

He helped Syracuse earn postseason bowl invitations each of his four seasons — including appearances in the Gator, Liberty, Fiesta and Orange Bowls each of the last four seasons. The Orange ended up in the final Associated Press top 25 each of his four seasons — 19th in ’95, 21st in both ’96 and ’97 and 25th in ’98.

Addazio spent seven previous seasons (1988-94) as head coach at Cheshire (Conn.) High School (alma mater of current Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni). At Cheshire, he coached Kyle McIntosh, who started at running back for the Orange in ’97 and ’98.

From 1984-87, Addazio served as an assistant at Western Connecticut State, the first three seasons under Pasqualoni. He worked as both offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. He helped the Colonials to marks of 9-1 and 10-2 in his first two seasons, including a berth in the ’85 NCAA Division III playoffs. Western Connecticut State tied for the New England Football Conference title in ’84 and won it outright in ’85.

A 1981 graduate of Central Connecticut State with a degree in physical education, he was a four-year starter in football. He earned tryouts with the NFL New England Patriots, USFL Jacksonville Bulls and CFL Ottawa Roughriders.

Born June 1, 1959, he and his wife Kathleen are parents of three children — Nicole, Jessica and Louis.

The Steve Addazio Coaching File

Year  School                            Assignment1984  Western Connecticut State (9-1)   Offensive Coordinator, Recruiting Coord.1985  Western Connecticut State (10-2)  Offensive Coordinator, Recruiting Coord.1986  Western Connecticut State (6-4)   Offensive Coordinator, Recruiting Coord.1987  Western Connecticut State         Offensive Coordinator, Recruiting Coord.
1988  Cheshire (Conn.) High School      Head Coach1989  Cheshire (Conn.) High School      Head Coach1990  Cheshire (Conn.) High School      Head Coach1991  Cheshire (Conn.) High School      Head Coach1992  Cheshire (Conn.) High School      Head Coach1993  Cheshire (Conn.) High School      Head Coach1994  Cheshire (Conn.) High School      Head Coach 1995  Syracuse (9-3, Gator Bowl)        Tight Ends, Assistant Offensive Line1996  Syracuse (9-3, Liberty Bowl)      Tight Ends, Assistant Offensive Line1997  Syracuse (9-4, Fiesta Bowl)       Offensive Line            1998  Syracuse (8-4, Orange Bowl)       Offensive Line

The hiring of Addazio completes Bob Davie’s coaching staff for 1999, after the Irish filled four vacancies in the offseason based on the loss of four assistant coaches:

• Defensive line coach Charlie Strong to South Carolina as defensive coordinator.
• Offensive coordinator Jim Colletto to NFL Baltimore Ravens as offensive line coach.
• Quarterback coach Mike Sanford to NFL San Diego Chargers as receivers coach.
• Secondary coach Tom McMahon to Colorado as co-defensive coordinator.

Here’s the lineup of assistants for Notre Dame in 1999:

Name              Assignment                             Year  Came to ND From   Kirk Doll         Inside Linebackers                     6th   Texas A&MUrban Meyer       Quarterbacks                           4th   Colorado StateGreg Mattison     Defensive coordinator, defensive line  3rd   MichiganDesmond Robinson  Running backs                          3rd   West VirginiaDave Borbely      Offensive line                         2nd   StanfordKevin Rogers      Offensive coordinator, receivers       1st   SyracuseLou West          Secondary                              1st   Virginia TechJerry Rosburg     Outside linebackers, special teams     1st   Boston CollegeSteve Addazio     Tight ends, special teams              1st   Syracuse

In addition to the hiring of four new assistants, Urban Meyer takes over as Irish quarterback coach after three seasons working with the receivers – with new offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers set to coach the receivers beginning in ’99.