Vincent DiGaetano has been with Maritime Football since the inception of the program in 2005 and has been a key contributor in the development of the program on and off the field.
A defensive specialist, "Coach Dig" has been the Privateers Defensive Coordinator since the 2008 campaign and has coached every defensive position group during his tenure. Prior to taking over the defense, he also served as the Special Teams Coordinator from 2005-07.
In 2013, DiGaetano was named to the USA Football Master Trainer program and is the only college coach in the nation with this assignment. Recognized as a subject matter expert in the area of tackling, Coach Dig has presented this NFL sponsored program to many high school and youth football programs around. His efforts in this area are helping to create a better, safer game for players across the nation.
The Maritime Defense is consistently recognized by ECFC coaches who have twice voted Linebacker, Keith Barnes, as the Conference Defensive Player of the Year (2010 and 2011), and 20 defenders to the All-ECFC squad.
In 2012, the Privateer Defense continued its dominance of opponents finishing 36th in the nation in Total Defense, 11th in Pass Defense and 32nd in 3rd Down Conversions. Keith Barnes finished his career holding a program lead in virtually every defensive statistical category as well as a NCAA Statistical leader in Total Tackles with 8.33 per game for the 2012 season.
The 2011 season proved to be the best statistical year for DiGaetano’s defense as they finished in the Top 10 nationally in Passing Defense (2nd), 1st Down Defense (7th) and Total Defense (8th). They also set program records in 3rd Down Defense (14th), Scoring Defense (34th) and Passes Intercepted (53rd). The Privateer Defense led the ECFC in 5 of the top defensive statistics and also contributed to a conference best Turnover Margin en-route to an 8-2 (6-1) record.
During the 2010 season, DiGaetano’s defense proved the axiom “Defense wins Championships” as this unit made the difference for the Privateers. The most significant improvement came in the Rushing Defense as this statistic jumped from 123rd to 37th in the national rankings. Total Defense jumped from top 30 in 2009 to top 25 in 2010 landing as the 24th ranked defense in the nation. The statistic that made the biggest impact for the Privateers came in turnovers as the defense followed DiGaetano’s “Rippin and Tearin” philosophy to national rankings of 14th in Fumbles Recovered and 28th in Forced Turnovers. He also coordinated the Punt Return Unit in 2010, helping them to a number 12 national ranking.
Prior to Maritime, DiGaetano spent four seasons as the defensive coordinator at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, coaching two future NFL players in Ramon Guzman (Indianapolis Colts) and Dequan Mobley.
A graduate of Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y., DiGaetano earned a Bachelor's of Arts in Sociology in 1999 and a Master's of Science in Education in 2001. DiGaetano was a standout defensive end for the Seahawks, lettering in each of his four years.
A native of Island Park, N.Y., DiGaetano attended West Hempstead High School where he lettered in football, track and lacrosse.
He currently resides in Valley Stream, N.Y. with his wife Jennifer and daughters Madeleine and Olivia.
