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Syracuse has hired former Ohio State safeties coach Perry Eliano as its defensive backs coach, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Friday. Eliano recently coached on Vince Kehres’ staff at Toledo the past two years.

The Orange pose a unique defensive back coach role, as head coach Fran Brown often works closely with the cornerbacks. Former SU defensive backs coach Joe Schaefer was listed as serving the entire secondary but largely worked with the safeties. It’s safe to expect Eliano to do the same.

A Killeen, Texas, native, Eliano starred at Stephen F. Austin from 1996-99 before getting into coaching. Stints at his alma mater, Central Arkansas and Sam Houston sparked his career before earning the special teams and safeties coach role at UTSA from 2011-15. At Bowling Green, Eliano served as the defensive coordinator from 2016-17, and later the special teams and cornerbacks coach at New Mexico from 2018-19.

Eliano’s breakout came during his stint with Cincinnati. Under Luke Fickell, the Bearcats made the College Football Playoff in 2021. Eliano coached star defensive backs Sauce Gardner and Coby Bryant as the duo anchored Cincinnati’s defense. His role with the Bearcats earned Eliano a promotion to Ohio State, where he serves as the safeties coach from 2022-23. As Brown was at Georgia, the two built a relationship at the top of their craft.

Eliano spent his last two seasons coaching under Kehres at Toledo. With the Rockets in 2025, Eliano’s group allowed just 158 passing yards per game while intercepting a pass per game.

He joins an entirely rebuilt Syracuse defensive staff, which includes Kehres, John Scott Jr. and Jeremy Hawkins. Elijah Robinson departed for Texas A&M, while Nick Williams left for FSU and Schaefer and Robert Wright were fired.

Published on December 26, 2025 at 11:42 am
Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky