Billy Napier and the Florida Gators are targeting Vinnie Sunseri to join their defensive staff, several sources told FootballScoop.
Though the deal with Sunseri is not done, per sources, he's been interviewing today with the Gators, who are still seeking to replace Austin Armstrong following Armstrong's departure to take over the defensive coordinator post on Willie Fritz's Houston staff.
Sunseri, who starred at Alabama and became a fifth-round NFL Draft pick, has been poised to become Charles Kelly's defensive coordinator at Jacksonville State.
The son of longtime coaching veteran Sal Sunseri, a former star player at Pittsburgh who coordinated defenses in the SEC and worked extensively in the NFL, Vinnie Sunseri spent the 2024 season on the University of Washington staff.
He previously had coached in the NFL with the New England Patriots, one of the teams for whom he played and also where he crossed paths with now-Washington coach Jedd Fisch.
Sunseri would immediately slot into a key role in the defense of Ron Roberts, the Florida defensive coordinator and
Napier led the Gators to a stirring second-half finish, fending off pressure about his job status to close with an 8-5 mark -- including ending the season with four-straight victories.
Florida opens its 2025 season with back-to-back home games against FCS program Long Island and in-state foe South Florida before a massive, back-to-back stretch of road tilts at rival Miami and LSU.