Friday March 29th, 2024 1:09AM

Falcons hire Tosh Lupoi as D-Line/run game coordinator

By AccessWDUN Staff

FLOWERY BRANCH — The Atlanta Falcons have hired Tosh Lupoi as the team’s defensive line and run game coordinator (DEs). 

“We are happy to have Tosh join our coaching staff. We look forward to what he brings to our organization,” Head Coach Dan Quinn said.

This past season, Lupoi was the defensive line coach in Cleveland. Under his direction, defensive linemen Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, Chad Thomas, Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson combined to tally 26 sacks, 35 tackles for loss, 52 quarterback hits and six forced fumbles. According to Next Gen Stats, this Browns quintet notched 119 stops – tackles that result in a successful play for the defense based on the yards to gain by down. They also recorded 28 run stuffs, tackles resulting in no gain or a loss of yards, and 131 total quarterback pressures.  

Prior to his time in Cleveland, Lupoi coached on the collegiate level 11 years, including five seasons at Alabama. Lupoi joined the Crimson Tide staff as a defensive analyst in 2014 and coached the outside linebackers in 2015. He added the title of co-defensive coordinator prior to the 2016 season and served as defensive coordinator in 2018.

During his time at Alabama, the Crimson Tide qualified for the College Football Playoffs all five seasons, advanced to the National Championship game four times and captured two national titles (2015 and 2017). During his time as coordinator, Alabama led the nation in scoring defense in 2016 (13.0 ppg) and 2017 (11.9). The school also finished second in the nation in total defense in 2016 (260.4 ypg) and 2017 (261.8 ypg). Lupoi worked with several players who went on to be first-round picks in the NFL, including DE Jonathan Allen, LB Rueben Foster, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, NT Daron Payne and LB Rashaan Evans.

Prior to Alabama, Lupoi was the defensive run game coordinator and defensive line coach at the University of Washington from 2012-13 and served as the defensive line coach at California for four years (2008-11). The Rivals Recruiter of the Year in 2010, Lupoi helped sign California classes that ranked No. 11 nationally in 2011 and No. 14 in 2010.

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