| Steve Saulnier |
| Title: | Assistant Head Coach (Offensive Line) |
|---|---|
| Email: | steven.saulnier@uncp.edu |
| Phone: | (910) 775-4232 |
| College: | N.C. State, 1985 |
| Bats/Throws: | Offensive Line |
Having achieved success in every stop of his storied 16-year
coaching career, Steve Saulnier begins his 12th year as a
collegiate coach and his fifth alongside head coach Pete Shinnick
at UNCP while serving as assistant head coach and offensive line
coach for the Braves.
Saulnier’s offensive line has made tremendous strides in
each of the last two seasons while paving the way for a vaunted
UNCP rushing attack. Having ranked among the nation’s top 10
in sacks allowed in both 2008 (10th) and 2009 (7th), the Braves
boasted the nation’s ninth-best rushing offense in 2009. Last
season’s offensive line produced a pair of all-Americans
(Keith Broderick, Hivera Green) as well as helped Travis Daniels
become the program’s first 1,000-yard rusher.
Saulnier comes to the UNCP campus from Canton, Ohio, where he
worked a stint as an area director for the Fellowship of Christian
Athletes. Prior to that role, he served two years as head coach of
West Branch High School in nearby Beloit, Ohio, helping to lead the
prep squad to a Division III state playoff appearance in 2004.
An offensive lineman for N.C. State from 1981-84 under then-head
coach and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and current Southern Cal
defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, Saulnier helped the Wolfpack to
16 wins during his career in the red and white, including a 6-5
mark in 1982 when N.C. State reeled off a 5-1 home mark and a third
place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Saulnier made a smooth transition into the coaching world a short
time later after being hired as the defensive/offensive line coach
at nearby Broughton High School.
In 1988, he was named graduate assistant coach for the defensive
and offensive lines at the University of Kansas, before moving on
to Brown University in 1990 as a graduate assistant offensive
line/tight ends coach. Current Texas A&M head coach Dennis
Franchione, then at the University of New Mexico, hired Saulnier as
a graduate assistant offensive line and defensive backs coach for
the 1991 and 1992 seasons.
Saulnier served in various coaching roles at Malone College from
1993-99 before being named the Pioneers head coach in 2000 –
a role he undertook for three seasons and, following his stint as
head coach in Canton, Saulnier moved on to a defensive coordinator
position for Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pa. He was a staple of
the coaching staff in the Golden Tornadoes’ run to the 2002
NCCAA Victory Bowl.
Saulnier obtained his bachelor’s degree in education from
N.C. State in 1985 and earned his master’s degree in physical
education from New Mexico in 1993. Steve and his wife, Dianna, have
two children, Jacob (14) and Hannah (11).
THE SAULNIER FILE
Coaching Experience
1985-87: Broughton (N.C.) HS (Offensive/Defensive Line)
1988-89: Kansas, Graduate Assistant (Offensive/Defensive Line)
1990: Brown, Graduate Assistant (Offensive Line/Tight Ends)
1991-92: New Mexico (Offensive Line/Defensive Backs)
1993-99: Malone (Ohio) College (Offensive Line)
2000-02: Malone (Ohio) College (Head Coach)
2002: Geneva (Pa.) College (Defensive Coordinator)
2003-05: West Branch (Ohio) HS (Head Coach)
2006-2009: UNC Pembroke (Offensive Line)
2009-Present: UNC Pembroke (Assistant Head Coach/Offensive
Line)
Education: Bachelor’s degree in education (N.C. State, 1985); Master’s degree in physical education (New Mexico, 1993)
