After 11 seasons as head coach of University at Albany football, Greg Gattuso is leaving the Great Danes. He announced Wednesday he is heading to Penn State to be a senior defensive analyst and defensive line coach.

“I would have kept coaching here and retired and went on with whatever direction it came,” said Gattuso, during a press conference inside Casey Stadium. “But it's just a really cool thing to go there.”

Gattuso played for the Nittany Lions from 1981 to 1983. He got his coaching career started with Penn State as well as a graduate assistant, before going on to coach at Duquesne, Pitt and Maryland.

Penn State head coach James Franklin is building a new defensive staff that recently included hiring former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to lead the Nittany Lions defense. Gattuso is his latest addition.

“It’s funny, their chief of staff called me and said they were doing some paperwork today to get through this, and he said the person he was dealing with was like, ‘Is this my guy Greg Gattuso from 83?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah it is.’ So they never really forget you,” Gattuso said.

Gattuso became the Great Danes head coach in 2014, taking over for longtime head coach Bob Ford. During his tenure at UAlbany, Gattuso had a record of 54-69. He reached the FCS playoff twice, including most recently in 2023, when the Great Danes made it to the Final Four.

He broke the news to his coaching staff on Tuesday and then informed the players on Wednesday of his decision to take the new role at Penn State.

“It was really good. They were great. It was emotional obviously, but they were great,” Gattuso said. “We have great kids, so it's always hard, very difficult.”

UAlbany will now be looking for just its third head coach in program history. Director of Athletics Mark Benson said the goal will be to keep as much of this coaching staff and team together as possible.

“I think more to come. We've had discussions with the team, with the staff, and we'll have more information shortly,” Benson said.

“I’m going to support whoever the head coach is,” Gattuso said. “Of course, we'd love it to be somebody internal or a former Great Dane. But at the end of the day, we have a great administration and they're going to do what's best for the program and the kids, and moving forward I'm going to be a supporter no matter what.”

UAlbany opens the 2025 season on Aug. 30 at Iowa.