Sam Anno will enter his 6th year with the USD staff as a full-time assistant on head coach Dale Lindsey[apos]s staff. The past five seasons he has been the Special Teams Coordinator along with coaching either linebackers or the defensive line unit. Last season senior defensive end Steve Gargiulo was tabbed an All-PFL first team member for defense, while fellow end Blake Oliaro closed out his career with 30 quarterback sacks.
During the 2011 campaign, sophomore DE Blake Oliaro was tabbed the PFL Defender of the Year and an All-America. Senior DE Mario Kurn signed a free agent contract with the Oakland Raiders. Three seasons ago, along with his Special Teams Coordinator duties, he oversaw Torero linebackers.
In 2008 he coached at Central Connecticut State where the team went 7-4 overall and tied for third in the Northeast Conference standings with a 4-3 mark. He was responsible for linebackers and special teams for the Blue Devils. Prior to his one year at Central Connecticut, Anno spent three seasons at the University of Southern California, his alma mater. After serving as a defensive and special teams graduate assistant at USC in 2005 and 2006, Anno was a video assistant on the 2007 staff. Prior to joining the USC staff, Anno spent 2004 as an assistant coach at Venice High School. He was also an assistant at Saint Monica High for four seasons (1996-99) and the defensive coordinator at Santa Monica High from 2000-01.
Anno spent seven years in the NFL after graduating from USC. A linebacker and long snapper, he played with the Los Angeles Rams (1987), Minnesota Vikings (1987-88), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1989-91) and San Diego Chargers (1992-93). He received NFL Special Teams Player of the Year honors in 1989. The Santa Monica, CA native received his bachelor[apos]s degree in Communications from USC in 1987. He also obtained a Master[apos]s degree in Athletic Administration from USC as well.
