In the end, it’s a homecoming reunion for Joe Seumalo and his new boss.
Late this past week, San Jose State announced that Seumalo has been hired as the Spartans’ defensive line coach. Seumalo spent the 2005 season overseeing the same unit at SJSU.
The Spartans’ wide receivers coach that season? Current SJSU head coach Brent Brennan.
“One thing I know about Joe is his players love him,” Brennan said in a statement. “His players will play their butts off for him. That’s what you need in the defensive front. You need guys to be relentless and to play hard, care about each other, care about the people they are playing for and I know we’ll get that with Joe.
“He spent 10 of the last 11 years in the Pac-12. He’s coached at a high level, year in and year out. He’s coached multiple NFL players. I know he is a great coach on the field and a great man off the field.”
Seumalo spent the 2016 season at Arizona State and nine seasons at Oregon State (2006-14), serving as the line coach at both of those Pac-12 stops. In between, he was the line coach at UNLV for one season (2015).
The school noted in its release that, in addition to their time together at SJSU, the two have previously worked on the same coaching staffs at OSU, Hawaii and Cal Poly.
Seumalo will replace Jamar Cain, who left SJSU earlier this month for the same job at Fresno State. Cain came to the Spartans less than two months earlier after leaving FCS power North Dakota State.