In 2014, Phil Longo enters his third season as The Rock's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and fourth season on the Slippery Rock University football coaching staff.
The Longo-led Rock "Air Raid" offense averaged 43.3 points and 536.5 yards per game in 2013. The no-huddle attack finished the nation ranked fourth nationally in total offense, sixth in passing offense and eighth in both scoring offense and first downs.
SRU led the 16-team Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in all four of the previously mentioned categories and set SRU single-season school records for points scored, total offense and passing yards.
The throttleman of last year's high octane offensive machine was senior Nigel Barksdale, who was the second Harlon Hill Trophy nominee coached by Longo, who also tutored Ted Schafke at Minnesota-Duluth in 2006-07.
Longo began his Rock coaching career as wide receivers coach in 2011 before assuming the OC and quarterbacks coach duties in 2012.
In his first season at SRU, Longo installed and coordinated a no-huddle, spread-style "Air Raid" offense that resulted in The Rock averaging 34.8 points and 407.3 total yards per game.
In 2010, Longo served as the receivers’ coach and recruiting coordinator at Youngstown State University where he mentored first-team all-conference pick senior Dominique Barnes (signed as a free agent with the Detroit Lions). Barnes set a school record by catching a pass in 34 consecutive games and finished his career ranked second in school history in receptions.
Prior to joining the YSU staff, Longo spent the previous two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois University, helping the program post a 15-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference record and back-to-back conference championships. SIU was 20-5 overall during Longo's tenure as offensive coordinator.
In 2009, Southern Illinois ranked seventh in the FCS in scoring offense (averaging 34.0 points per game) and 21st in total offense (394.8). The statistics were even more impressive considering SIU lost its starting quarterback, Chris Dieker, midway through the season and turned the reigns over to freshman Paul McIntosh. Both quarterbacks had success in different ways for Longo. Dieker (signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers) excelled in the passing game (1,326 yards), while McIntosh shined in the rushing attack (588 yards and six touchdowns). The duo combined for 2,879 yards of total offense, 18 touchdown passes, a 61.5 completion percentage and just nine interceptions.
One of biggest beneficiaries of the well-balanced system was running back Deji Karim, a former backup, who became one of the nation's leading rushers his senior year. Karim, the MVFC Offensive Player of the Year, finished third in the balloting for the prestigious Payton Award after a season in which he rushed for 1,694 yards, 18 TDs and a 7.1 per carry average. Karim was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars and is currently a member of the Houston Texans.
The Salukis reached the FCS quarterfinals before losing to William & Mary. SIU was 11-2 overall and undefeated (8-0) in the MVFC. Southern Illinois spent seven weeks as the #1 ranked team in the nation.
Phil Longo's 2009 offense averaged 34.0 points per game.
In 2008, Longo's first season, he directed a Saluki attack that featured a 1,000-yard rusher in Larry Warner and a passing game that was ranked No. 2 in the conference. These accomplishments were all the more impressive since Southern had to replace 8 of 11 starters including all of its skill positions.
Prior to SIU, Longo was the offensive coordinator under Bubba Schweigert at University of Minnesota-Duluth (2006-07). UMD's offense ranked at or near the top in most offensive categories including second in passing offense both seasons. Longo mentored receiver Brandon Anson (signed as a freee agent with the Cincinnati Bengals) and quarterback Ted Schlafke, who holds numerous Division II passing records and went on to win the 2008 Division II National Championship. Schlafke currently serves as the offensive coordinator for Western Illinois University.
From 2004-05, Longo served as head coach at LaSalle. During his time at the LaSalle helm, Longo produced two MAAC Offensive Player of the Year award winners, five All-Americans and 13 All-MAAC selections. His 2004 offense ranked second in the nation among Division I-AA Mid-Major schools. In addition, he oversaw an offensive unit which established 19 school records and finished first in the MAAC.
A New Jersey native, Longo joined LaSalle after serving as the Associate Head Coach & Offensive Coordinator at William Paterson University (2000-01) .
In 2001, William Paterson sported one of the top offenses in Division III. The Pioneer offense finished with the third-highest scoring average in school history while equaling or setting 27 school records.
As head coach at Parsippany Hills, Longo took over a program with a winning percentage of .217 over the 33 years prior to his arrival. He led the Vikings to their first appearance ever in the NJ State playoffs and their first undefeated championship season. Longo left as the winningest coach in school history. In 1999, his team competed in and won the 11th highest scoring game in the history of high school football in the U.S. Longo earned NJ Star Ledger and Daily Record Coach of the Year honors in 1998-99 and was awarded the Sportsmanship, Ethics & Integrity Award by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Longo began his playing career at East Stroudsburg University, where he played quarterback in 1987. The following year, he transferred to Rowan University, where he played from 1988-1991 under the tutelage of John Bunting (former defensive coordinator for the 1998 Superbowl Champion St. Louis Rams) and KC Keeler (head coach at the University of Delaware). As a running back at Rowan, he was a member of the school's first New Jersey Athletic Conference championship and NCAA Division III playoff team as a senior. He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Rowan in 1992.
He currently resides in Slippery Rock with his wife Tanya, SRU's Head Women's Basketball Coach, and their two daughters, Gianna and Macaria.
Q&A with Coach Longo on his philosophy:What’s been the key to the offensive success your offensive unit has had?Longo: "Without question, the commitment that has been made by our players and our staff. The players embraced the new system two years ago and it has been a track meet ever since. We have talent, we have a great offensive staff and we have a mentality here that allows us to push our players hard. That type of player commitment wins football games! Coach (Chris) Conrad has done an incredible job developing the offensive line at The Rock. His experience as a professional player and his ability to relate to our guys has been a huge asset. Coach (Zack) Patterson handles our running backs and tight ends, which is a challenging job. Both positions have become substantial weapons in our system this year because of the work he has done. Coach (Frank) Bongivengo joined the staff last year and his familiarity with the spread offense allowed us to get everything installed very quickly. Coach (Josh) Bermann came on this season and did a great job developing some of the younger talent on the O-line. We needed some of those younger guys on numerous occasions this season. These guys make my job easy.”
Are you pleased with how the players have progressed in the offense?Longo: “I am impressed with how quickly they have learned it and how quickly they have excelled at it. I would say my 2008 Southern Illinois offense did a great job of learning and succeeding with a new system after returning only three starters from the previous season. They went on to win the conference and qualify for the FCS national playoffs that season. Likewise, winning the PSAC West and making the Division II national playoffs last fall is indicative of the great job our kids have done with transitioning and excelling in our system here at SRU.
You threw the ball for over 4,000 yards this year, and ran it for over 2,000 yards. Are you striving for more balance then that on offense? Longo: “We do not measure balance in terms of pass vs. run yardage. Balance in our offense is measured by how well we distribute the football to all of the athletes that we have. We want everyone involved and we want everyone to be a factor. Sixteen different players caught a pass this season. Ten of them had 10 or more catches. Nine players caught TD passes. Four players threw at least one TD pass. Four different skill players rushed for over 300 yards. That is balance to us. The ultimate goal is to force the defense to have to defend the entire field along with every skill player we have in the formation.”
Do you recruit to the offense or do you mold the offense to your current talent?Longo: “The offense is the offense. We will not change the system from year to year because we believe it is the best way to attack defenses. However, the offense is very flexible and it gives us the ability to cater what we do to the strengths of the current players. Our offensive emphasis will always be dictated by the talent that we have. “
What do you look for when recruiting players for this system?Longo: "We look for athletic ability, the ability to change direction, physicality and intelligence. We want to create space and let the athletes take care of the show. If we have to coach a guy how to make a play in open space, then we have the wrong guy. That is the same philosophy we have with our offensive linemen. They have to be athletic and good in space.”
Are there any other important factors with regards to what you look for in a recruit?Longo: "Character and production. At the end of the day, if those two components are not part of the make-up of a recruit we are evaluating, we will probably move on. We have a very high character team here and recruiting character is not easy, but it is one of our most important requirements. We want to coach good people. Secondly, a player has to demonstrate the ability to produce consistently. The consistency is indicative of great focus and preparation. You cannot win consistently without playing consistently.”
