E-mail Coach Pete DeStefano (pd30@cornell.edu)
Recruiting Areas: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York (Albany, Utica), Central Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
Pete DeStefano has been a constant on the sidelines for the Big Red since 1993 as defensive line coach, making him the second-longest tenured assistant football coach in Cornell history. He will serve in the role of Associate Defensive Coordinator for the fourth straight year. He has coached or recruited 30 All-Ivy League players during his tenure.
DeStefano has played a large role in scheming a defense that allowed opponents just 108.1 yards per game rushing from 2004-06, among the best marks in the FCS over that span. Cornell also posted its third straight year with at least 20 quarterback sacks in 2006 after reaching that mark just three times in the previous seven years. The 2007 team posted 57 total tackles for loss and has reached that mark in six of the last seven seasons.
In 2005, DeStefano’s defensive line helped Cornell’s defense rank second nationally in rushing defense (88.3 ypg.), giving up just 33 yards total on the ground in the final three contests. The unit ranked fourth nationally in total defense (261.3 ypg.) and 18th in scoring defense (18.0 ppg.). The line featured first-team All-Ivy pick Matt Pollock and two-time second-team selection Jonathan Lucas.
He has also been instrumental in developing kick block schemes that helped the 2004 team to a school-record eight blocks. The team has blocked 46 total kicks in DeStefano’s tenure, including seven in 2007.
DeStefano believes that hard work brings success, and often points to Seth Payne ’97, a nine-year NFL defensive tackle, as proof. After recruiting Payne, who barely weighed in at 225 pounds, DeStefano watched the tackle blossom into a fourth-round NFL draft pick.
DeStefano started his Cornell career as the head freshman coach and academic counselor for the athletic department in May 1990. Prior to coming to Cornell, he was associate head coach and defensive coordinator in charge of the linebackers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 1986-90. He was also an assistant track coach at Rensselaer.
Before going to Rensselaer, DeStefano was defensive coordinator and linebacker coach at Allegheny College from May 1984 to June 1986, and he was also head track coach.
Prior to his stint at Allegheny, DeStefano coached at Edinboro University, serving as head junior varsity coach and defensive coordinator in 1981, with the varsity offensive line in 1982 and with the defensive ends in 1983. He was also strength coach and helped with recruiting.
A 1978 graduate of Slippery Rock University with a bachelor of science degree in physical education and health, DeStefano received his master’s in educational administration from Edinboro in 1982. While an undergraduate, he played tight end for three years and received honorable mention All-Western Pennsylvania Conference.
From 1978-81, DeStefano coached at Clinton Central HS. As the head varsity coach, he directed the team to the Tri-Valley League championship in 1979 and was named Coach of the Year. He also coached track at Clinton.
A 1974 graduate of New Hartford HS, DeStefano was all-league in football and track. His brother, Jim, was an AP All-America honorable mention linebacker at Cornell in 1980 and is a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame.
DeStefano and his wife, Joanne, reside in Ithaca. They have a son, Peter, who works in New York City for the Marriott Corporation. Joanne received her master’s degree from Cornell’s Johnson School of Management in 1997.
