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Football Announces Two Additions to the Coaching Staff
April 12, 2007 ORONO, Maine - University of Maine head football coach Jack Cosgrove announced on Thursday the additions of Joe Rossi and Frank Giufre to the coaching staff. Rossi will coach the defensive backs, while Giufre will work with the offensive line. "We are very pleased to add two coaches with the credentials that Joe Rossi and Frank Giufre have," Cosgrove said. "They are terrific young coaches who are great at teaching and being leaders for the young men on our football team." Rossi comes to Maine after spending the previous six seasons at Thiel College in Greenville, Pa., including the past four seasons as defensive coordinator. This past season, his defense at Thiel ranked second in the President's Athletic Conference in scoring defense, total defense, rush defense and pass defense. Rossi helped lead Thiel to the conference championship in 2005 and a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs. That season, Thiel set school records for sacks (39), total defense (253 ypg), rush defense (80.3 ypg) and wins (11). Thiel's defense also ranked eighth in the nation in total defense and ninth in rush defense. Prior to being the defensive coordinator, Rossi served as the defensive line coach at Thiel from 2001-02. Rossi's other duties at Thiel included serving as a pre-season camp coordintor, recruiting coordinator in the state of Florida and serving as an assistant strength & conditioning coordinator. Rossi is also a member of the America Football Coaches Association Assistant Coaches Committee. He was a four-year starter on the defensive line at Allegheny College from 1997-2000, and was a two-time all-conference selection. "(Defensive Coordinator) Robb Smith also played at Allegheny and knew Joe and was really impressed with his work ethic," Cosgrove added. "Joe was a guy that we knew we wanted to get and went after him right away." Giufre comes to Maine after spending the previous three seasons as the offensive line coach at Sacred Heart. While at Sacred Heart, Giufre's offensive line allowed a Northeast Conference-low 13 quarterback sacks in 2004. His line also paved the way for Ed Pricolo to earn NCAA FCS All-America honors in both 2004 and 2005. Prior to Sacred Heart, Giufre was an offensive and defensive graduate assistant coach at Miami (Fla.) for three seasons from 2001-03, including helping the Hurricanes to the 2001 national championship with a 37-14 victory over Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. Miami advanced to back-to-back berths in BCS bowls following the 2001 national title, including a victory over Florida State in the 2004 Orange Bowl. Giufre worked with the defensive and offensive lines, and the tight ends while at Miami. He helped mentor future NFL players William Joseph (DL -- New York Giants), Ed Reed (DB -- Baltimore Ravens), Vince Wilfork (DL -- New England Patriots), Kellen Winslow Jr. (TE -- Cleveland Browns) and Bryant McKinnie (OL -- Minnesota Vikings). Giufre attended Syracuse from 1995-99 and earned multiple letters as an offensive lineman.
"Frank has an impressive list of references and I became more and more impressed about him as a coach after I talked with several of them," Cosgrove added. "He did a great job at Sacred Heart and was part of the tremendous success Miami had a couple of years ago."
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