Penn State Special Teams Coordinator Phil Galiano Leaving For The NFL
Update 10 a.m.: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Phil Galiano will become the New Orleans Saints’ assistant special teams coach.
Original Story: Penn State football is losing special teams coordinator Phil Galiano to the NFL, according to 247Sports.
While it’s unclear which team will add Galiano to its coaching staff, he won’t be back in Happy Valley next season and will return to the NFL. His position with the Nittany Lions was listed on Penn State’s Jobs site Thursday night, and the team confirmed his departure to 247Sports on Friday morning.
“We are excited for Phil and his family,” Penn State Athletics said in a statement. “This is a tremendous opportunity for Phil to return to the NFL. We are very appreciative of Phil and everything he has done for our program over the last two years. We wish him nothing but success moving forward.”
Before joining the Nittany Lions in 2017 as a defensive consultant, Galiano spent the 2016 season with the Miami Dolphins as a special teams intern and two seasons as a special teams assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his only season as the special teams coordinator, Penn State had the 77th-best special teams unit in the country in 2018 based on Bill Connelly’s S&P rankings.
Blake Gillikin was excellent in the punting game this season, but the rest of the punt team struggled to contain opposing returners this season. This was on full display in the Citrus Bowl when Kentucky’s Lynn Bowden returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown. Penn State also struggled to secure onside kicks throughout the year.
Galiano isn’t the only assistant coach who left Happy Valley this offseason. Wide receivers coach David Corley was fired and replaced by Gerad Parker shortly after the Citrus Bowl.
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