A beloved former offensive coordinator and coach for Arizona State University’s Sun Devils, Dan Cozzetto, passed away on Thursday, July 31, 2025.
Former coach Dan Cozzetto is survived by his wife, Deborah Egger-Cozzetto, and four children: two sons, Adrian and Ryan, and two daughters, Rachel and Tara.
Tragically, Cozzetto took his last breath just a couple of weeks after celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary with his wife, Deborah. They tied the knot on July 7, 2000.
Ryan followed in his father’s footsteps, playing football at Oregon State as a redshirt freshman safety and punter.
Born in Spokane, Washington, Dan Cozzetto was a multi-position player at Idaho from 1976-7. He played tight end, linebacker, and guard after transferring from Spokane Falls Community College.
He graduated from Idaho in 1979 with degrees in Secondary Education and Physical Education and a minor in Social Studies.
A proud alumnus of Gonzaga Prep High School, Cozzetto’s love for football began early.
Dan Cozzetto Had an Impressive Coaching Career of Nearly Four Decades!
Cozzetto had a coaching career of 39 years, with significant contributions at both the collegiate and professional levels.
Dan’s coaching journey started at the University of Idaho in 1979, where he worked for 12 years. He began as a graduate assistant coaching linebackers, then coached wide receivers, tight ends, and the offensive line.
Later, he became special teams coordinator, offensive coordinator, and assistant head coach.
In 1990, Dan moved to the University of California as the offensive line coach for two years.
His work helped Cal have one of its best rushing seasons in years, with over 2,000 yards in 1990. That year, Cal was one of the rare teams to have two 1,000-yard rushers and a 2,000-yard passer in the same season.
Then, Dan joined Arizona State University’s Sun Devils in 1992 as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach under head coach Bruce Snyder.
He stayed for eight years, creating some of ASU’s best offenses ever. In 1996, his team won 11 out of 12 games, claimed the Pac-10 Championship, and played in the Rose Bowl.
That year, the Sun Devils averaged 474.4 yards and 42.6 points per game, led by quarterback Jake Plummer, a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Dan coached four All-Americans: Plummer, tailback Terry Battle, wide receiver Keith Poole, and left tackle Juan Roque.
Over his time at ASU, his offenses averaged 396.3 yards per game, and 20 players, including eight offensive linemen, were drafted into the NFL, like Marvel Smith, Levi Jones, Todd Heap, and J.R. Redmond.
From 2000 to 2002, Dan coached at Oregon State under head coach Dennis Erickson.
He started as the running backs coach, then switched to coaching tight ends and helping with the offensive line.
In 2000, running back Ken Simonton earned All-America honors with over 1,500 rushing yards.
In 2003, Dan worked at the University of Washington as the offensive line coach.
A year later, in 2004, Dan coached in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers as the tight ends coach under Dennis Erickson.
His player, tight end Eric Johnson, led the team with 825 receiving yards and 82 catches that season.
Dan returned to Idaho in 2006 as offensive coordinator under Dennis Erickson. The team had a 4-8 record, and Dan was expected to follow Erickson to ASU the next year.
Later, he went back to Arizona State University (ASU) in 2007 as tight ends coach and special teams coordinator under Dennis Erickson.
From 2009 to 2013, Dan returned to the University of Washington as offensive line coach and run game coordinator for five years.
One of his players, left tackle Senio Kelemete, was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 2012.
In 2014, Dan briefly worked with the Boston Brawlers, a team in a developmental football league.
A year later, in 2015, Dan took over as head coach of Phoenix College’s football team.
The program had no wins in the previous two seasons, but in his second year, Dan led the team to five wins, showing his talent for turning teams around.
Dan again returned to Oregon State in 2017 as an offensive consultant, sharing his expertise during his third stint with the Beavers.
A year later, in 2018, he joined Arizona State University (ASU) as a quality control assistant under head coach Herm Edwards.
