Tony Tuioti is in his third season on the Cal coaching staff and his second campaign as the Golden Bears' defensive line coach in 2019.
In his first season in his current role in 2018, Tuioti was instrumental in the development of three of the most improved players on the defense in Luc Bequette, Chris Palmer and Tevin Paul, with all three putting up career highs in nearly every category.
Bequette started all 13 games and contributed 49 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss (-31 yards), a team-high-tying 5.0 sacks (-29 yards), one pass breakup, two quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and the squad's only blocked kick while becoming one of the top defensive lineman in the Pac-12. Bequette earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors from the league's coaches and also picked up the league's Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in Cal's victory over USC when he had eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss (-20 yards), 2.0 sacks (-19 yards) and one forced fumble. In addition, he earned Cal's Brick Muller Award as the team's most valuable defensive lineman.
Palmer, a converted offensive lineman, picked up Cal's Bob Tessier Award as its most improved lineman on either side of the ball. He finished his collegiate career as a 2018 senior by playing in all 13 games and starting 10 at nose guard. Palmer contributed 30 tackles, six pass breakups that were tied for second on the squad, 2.0 tackles for loss (-9 yards) and 1.0 sack (-7 yards).
Paul played in all 13 games with nine starts and saw action at both defensive end and outside linebacker, finishing with 44 tackles, team-high-tying totals of 11.0 tackles for loss (-38) and three quarterback hurries, 2.0 sacks (-18 yards) and two pass breakups.
The contributions of the defensive linemen in 2018 helped the Bears rank among national and Pac-12 leaders in nearly every category. Cal ranked in the top 10 nationally and paced the conference in interceptions (21, No. 2 NCAA), defensive touchdowns (5, No. T4 NCAA), turnovers gained (28, No. 6T NCAA) and passing yards allowed (175.1 ypg, No. 9 NCAA). The Bears also paced the conference and ranked in the top 20 in the country in pass efficiency defense (107.26, No. 11 NCAA) and first downs allowed (227, No. 18 NCAA). In addiiton, Cal was 15th nationally in total defense (317.2 ypg) and 22nd in scoring defense (20.4 ppg) while registering third in the Pac-12 in both areas.
In his first season at Cal in 2017, Tuioti's outside linebackers were a key component of a defense that allowed 14.2 points less per contest than the year before his arrival, giving up only 28.4 points per contest. Much of the 2017 team's success came from its big-play ability on defense with Cal ranking among the nation's best for much of the season in nearly every defensive category related to turnovers before finishing tied for 21st in defensive touchdowns (4), tied for 27th in fumbles recovered (10), tied for 29th in turnovers gained (24) and tied for 32nd in passes intercepted (14). Cal's seven takeaways in a 37-3 win over then No. 8/9 Washington State equaled the most by an FBS team in 2017.
The 2017 Cal defense had better total numbers and rankings than the 2016 squad in 14 of the 15 primary team defensive statistics tracked by the NCAA. Even more impressively the Bears' average improvement in the national rankings was just under 40 spots per category in those 15 defensive statistics. Cal was tied for 41st nationally in sacks (up 66 spots from its 2016 national ranking) with an average of 2.33 sacks per game with the team's outside linebackers responsible for 11.0 of Cal's 28.0 sacks.
Tuioti was instrumental in the development of a pair of Cal's most dynamic players and edge rushers in 2017 in outside linebackers Alex Funches and Cameron Goode. Funches contributed 36 tackles while leading the team in tackles for loss (10.5) and ranking second in sacks (4.0). Goode started each of the team's first nine games before suffering a season-ending injury and did a little bit of everything with 46 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception, three pass breakups, two quarterback hurries and one forced fumble. Goode returned his interception 32 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarterback to secure a victory against Ole Miss in one of Cal's most memorable plays of the campaign. Raymond Davison (62 tackles, 4.5 sacks), the team's third-leading tackler and leader in sacks, also played a significant amount of the season at outside linebacker while also seeing action on the inside. Davison is now in the NFL on Kansas City's practice squad.
Prior to joining Cal, Tuioti was the director of player personnel at Michigan in 2016. During his one season with the Wolverines, Tuioti filled the role of the head of the recruiting department for a team that finished 10-3 overall and ranked No. 10 nationally. He was instrumental in hosting recruiting visits for many of the nation’s top recruits and helped secure several commitments including each of the top six ranked in-state recruits as part of a 2017 class that ranked as high as No. 3 nationally according to Scout. He also played a critical role in developing the relationships for a satellite camp tour in the summer of 2016 that included American Samoa, Australia and Hawaii among nearly 40 locations.
Tuioti spent the previous two seasons in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns (2014-15) as an assistant defense line/quality control coach. Cleveland defensive tackle Danny Shelton, the 12th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Washington, started 15 of 16 games and posted 36 tackles under Tuioti’s oversight in 2015. The Browns' 2014 defense led the NFL in opponents' completion percentage (57.1%), opponents' quarterback passer rating (74.1) and passes defended (99), while ranking second in interceptions (21), tied fourth in takeaways (29) and ninth in points allowed (21.1 ppg). The 2014 Browns had the largest road comeback victory in NFL history with a 29-28 win at Tennessee after trailing 28-3 in the second quarter.
Before his Browns' tenure Tuioti spent six seasons in three different roles at Hawai’i as his alma mater’s lead recruiter while also coaching linebackers (2012-13) and defensive line (2010-11) after beginning his tenure as the director of player personnel (2008-09). He helped coach the 2010 Rainbow Warriors to their fourth Western Athletic Conference championship in school history as they shared the crown with Boise State and Nevada.
Hawai’i ranked among the nation’s leaders in at least one defensive category in each of his four seasons as a coach highlighted by the 2010 team that led the nation in takeaways (38) followed by a 2011 squad that was tied for 15th in per-game sacks (2.69 spg), a 2012 club that was 11th in pass defense (182.8 ypg), and a 2013 unit that was third in per-game tackles for loss (8.3) and eighth in fumbles recovered (15). The 2010 squad also did not allow a 100-yard rusher in conference play and tied a school record with five defensive touchdowns while ranking second in school history in total defense (357.6 ypg) and rushing defense (135.9 ypg). Tuioti’s 2010 defensive line accounted for 22.5 of the team’s 30.0 sacks. In 2013, his linebackers led the squad in total tackles, tackles for loss and sacks.
Before returning to his alma mater, Tuioti was the defensive coordinator at Silverado High School in Las Vegas for one season in 2007, helping lead the team to a 10-0 regular-season record for the first time in school history, a 10-1 overall mark and the Sunrise League Southeast Division title. He also spent two seasons as the head coach at Kalaheo High School in Hawai’i from 2003-04 before moving to Las Vegas to pursue a second master’s degree. Tuioti took over a Kalaheo team that had been winless the previous season and led the Mustangs to the O’ahu Interscholastic Association playoffs for the first time in 10 years as the youngest varsity head coach in the state in 2003.
Tuioti started his coaching career at Hawai’i by serving for two seasons (2000-01) as a graduate assistant on the defensive side of the ball after a playing career in which he was a four-year letterwinner (1996-99), an honorable mention All-WAC defensive lineman as a 1998 junior and part of a team as a 1999 senior that registered a turnaround that is tied for the largest in NCAA history, going from 0-12 the previous season to a 9-4 mark that included a share of the WAC title and was capped off by a victory in the Oahu Bowl. He is one of two Rainbow Warriors to win a WAC championship both as a player (1999) and coach (2010). Tuioti also played in the 2000 Hula Bowl following his senior season.
Tuioti earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from Hawai’i in 2000 before adding a master's degree in education administration from the school in 2002. Tuioti also completed work on a second master's degree in special education from UNLV in 2007.
Tuioti is a 1995 graduate of Foothill High School in Tustin, Calif., where he played three seasons of varsity football and was a first-team All-County and All-Section selection as a 1994 senior. He led his squad to back-to-back Century League titles in his final two campaigns.
Tuioti and his wife, former Hawai’i women’s volleyball player Keala Nihpali, have seven children – daughters, Teisa, Teiyana and Teinia, and sons, Teivis, Teilor, Teitum and Teimana.
Tony Tuioti File
Birthdate: February 9, 1977
Born: Apia, Samoa
Hometowns: Santa Ana, CA & Laie, HI
High School: Foothill HS
College: Hawai’i, 2000, Bachelor’s in Sociology; Hawai’i, 2002, Master’s in Education Administration; UNLV, 2007, Master’s in Special Education
Family: Wife, Keala; Daughters, Teisa, Teiyana, Teinia; Sons, Teivis, Teilor, Teitum, Teimana
Pronunciation: too-ee-OH-tee
Coaching History
*Season: Team – Position (Champions, Postseason)
2000: Hawai’i – Graduate Assistant, Defense
2001: Hawai’i – Graduate Assistant, Defense
2003: Kalaheo HS – Head Coach (OIA Playoffs)
2004: Kalaheo HS – Head Coach
2007: Silverado HS – Defensive Coordinator (Sunrise League Southeast Division Champion, State Playoffs)
2008: Hawai’i – Director of Player Personnel (Hawaii Bowl)
2009: Hawai’i – Director of Player Personnel
2010: Hawai’i – Defensive Line (WAC Tri-Champions, Hawaii Bowl)
2011: Hawai’i – Defensive Line
2012: Hawai’i – Linebackers
2013: Hawai’i – Linebackers
2014: Cleveland Browns (NFL) – Assistant Defensive Line/Quality Control
2015: Cleveland Browns (NFL) – Assistant Defensive Line/Quality Control
2016: Michigan – Director of Player Personnel (Orange Bowl)
2017: California – Outside Linebackers
2018: California – Defensive Line (Cheez-It Bowl)
2019: California – Defensive Line
*Season in which postseason games were played
Last Updated
January 25, 2019
