Football Preview | Coach Bagnoli's loyal wingmen

Al Bagnoli has coached at Penn so long that members of the incoming freshman class were not yet born when he first took the helm in 1992.

Since that time, Bagnoli has accumulated eight outright Ivy League championships and 131 career victories — more than any other coach in Penn history.

He could never have accomplished these feats, however, without the dedication and support of his assistant coaches — especially those who have been with him since the beginning.

Defensive line coach Jim Schaefer and defensive coordinator Ray Priore have both been with Bagnoli since he took the head job, and quarterbacks coach Larry Woods joined the staff soon after in 1994.

Schaefer, who is entering his 30th year working under Bagnoli, coached with him for 11 years at Union College before making the move to follow him to Penn.

“It was late in the process, but he asked me to come here and join him,” Schaefer recalled. “So I did — it was a great move.”

Another assistant, tight ends coach Mark Fabish, has only been part of the coaching staff for a few years, but he has had an impact on Bagnoli’s tenure for much longer.

Fabish played for Bagnoli from 1993-1996 and was part of two Ivy championship teams. Shortly after graduating, he began his coaching career and immediately knew he wanted to return to Penn to work under Bagnoli.

“It was almost instantaneous,” the former All-Ivy wide receiver said. “As soon as I started coaching at the collegiate level, I said, ‘You know what? It would be great to be back, back at this place because it’s so special.’”

Although he had been inquiring about a job with the Quakers for years, nothing was ever open.

“That’s a testament to the type of place that this is,” Fabish explained.

In 2009, he finally got the call and was appointed to his current position.

As a coach, Fabish has been able to “see behind the curtain” and learn how the “Great and Almighty Oz” operates, as he put it.

“Seeing a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff that Coach does, it’s no surprise why he’s had the success that he’s had,” Fabish said.

After three decades by Bagnoli’s side, Schaefer had nothing but praise for Bagnoli as well.

“I liked what I saw 30 years ago,” Schaefer said. “I don’t think he’s changed a whole lot … which is what has made it easy for me to stay with him.”

Since Bagnoli and his longtime assistants have taken over, Penn football has come a long way.

When they arrived in 1992, the Quakers had just completed their third straight losing season, despite winning an Ivy title just four years earlier.

“We felt we could turn this thing around fairly quickly, just because of the fact that it had been a powerhouse in the ’80s and it was only three years removed from being a real strong team,” Schaefer said. “Everything was in place to have success.”

The coaches were right. Penn returned to its winning ways in 1992 and won an outright Ivy title in 1993. The Quakers won an impressive 24 consecutive games between 1993 and 1995.

“I don’t think we thought we’d have quite as much success so early,” Schaefer revealed. “But we were pretty confident in what we were doing.”

Fabish attributes much of the success of Penn football over the past two decades to strong national recruiting by Bagnoli and his staff.

“I think Penn has done a phenomenal job … of selling itself,” he said. “Of getting out and letting the world know, letting recruits know that we are a legitimate program playing a high level of football, with unbelievable student athletes.”

Some would say the rest is history, but it’s not over yet. Coming off back-to-back Ivy titles, the Red and Blue are favored to win it all again for a third-straight year.

That’s why it’s no surprise that neither Schaefer nor Fabish intend to leave anytime soon.

“I’ve had opportunities to go outside of coaching and some other places within coaching,” Schaefer divulged. “But we’ve worked so many years together that I know what I’m getting with him and he knows what he’s getting with me. There’s a comfort level there.”

Fabish gushed about the job.

“The guys that Bagnoli has surrounded himself with and the coaching staff have made working here at Penn a delight every day,” he said.

“Heck, we get to go to Franklin Field every day for work. It’s a dream come true.”

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