REPORT: Special Teams Coach Phil Galiano Taking NFL Job

Penn State will have a new special teams coach, according to a report by 247.com. Phil Galiano, who headed the special teams in 2018, will be pursuing an as-yet announced opportunity in the NFL.

Galiano joined the Nittany Lions coaching staff in 2017 as a defensive consultant, before being promoted to special teams and assistant defensive line coach in 2018. Prior to that, Galiano served as a special teams intern for the Miami Dolphins in 2016. He had a previous stint in the NFL as a special teams assistant for Tampa Bay from 2012-2013. Galiano is a Norristown, Pa. native who is a graduate of Shippensburg University.

The move doesn’t come as a major shock, as Penn State’s special teams units took a major step back in 2018. Crucial mistakes became commonplace, whether it be lapses in kick coverage, inability to adjust to fake field goal and punt attempts, or just general miscues that seemed to occur on a weekly basis throughout the 2018 campaign.

Penn State will now pursue its third special teams coach in as many years as Galiano came in last season to replace Charles Huff, who had coached running backs and special teams, after he left to become Joe Moorhead’s offensive coordinator at Mississippi State.