Dante DePaola
Dante DePaola
Title: Defensive Coordinator
Email: ddepaola@santarosa.edu

Honors

  • 2013 Teacher of the Year, Piner High School 2013
  • Finalist for District Teacher of the Year, Santa Rosa City Schools

Dante DePaola begins his 4th season with the Bear Cubs as Defensive Coordinator and brings with him over ten years of experience and knowledge. In addition to his coaching assignment at SRJC, Dante teachers in the Kinesiology, Athletics and Dance department at the college.

Coach DePaola  is a local product and graduate from El Molino HS where he played quarterback and defensive back. After he graduated from high school, he enrolled at Cal and walked onto the football team. Soon after enrolling at Cal Dante earned a full scholarship and became a major contributor to the team. Dante was team captain, and All-PAC 10 Honorable Mention. He was the recipient of the Ken Cotton Award, the Andy Smith Award, the Dink Artal Award, and was voted to the UC Berkeley Scholar Athlete Team.

After graduating from CAL Coach DePaola was signed as a free agent to the Baltimore Ravens where he played defensive back in 1997. In 1998 Coach DePaola was signed as a free agent to the Barcelona Dragons where he played for the World Bowl Championship and achieved All-NFL Europe Honors as a defensive back.

Coach DePaola graduated with a Bachelors degree in Human Biodynamics, and later received his Teaching Credential. Coach Depaola is an active member of our community, a mentor and a positive role model for young people. He is a walking example of what we want our student athletes to become. He and his wife Tinya, who have been together since high school, have two children, Santia and Gitano.