Bio entering 2022 season
At San Diego State
- Gary Bernardi begins his fourth year at San Diego State, where he will continue working as an offensive analyst on head coach Brady Hoke’s staff.
Previous Collegiate Coaching Experience
- A veteran of 39 seasons in the Division I-A /FBS ranks, Bernardi has coached in 441 games at college football’s top level, including 14 bowl games.
- Has coached numerous All-Americans during his career, while over 20 of his players have gone on to play professionally, including Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden, as well as Tony Boselli, a member of the 1990s NFL All-Decade Team.
- Prior to his arrival on The Mesa, Bernardi spent six years as an assistant coach at Colorado, where he tutored the Buffaloes’ tight ends and H-backs for the last three seasons after sliding over from the offensive line.
- In his first two years on the Boulder campus, Colorado’s offensive line improved over the course of both seasons, as his five gameday linemen were credited with allowing only 11 quarterback sacks in 545 passing plays during the 2014 campaign (one in every 49.5 plays) after yielding 28 sacks in 999 passing plays the previous year (one in every 36 plays).
- In 2014, the Buffaloes’ running backs averaged over four yards per carry (4.11) for the first time since 2006.
- One of the veteran offensive line coaches in the nation, with the exception of just three seasons in his career, Bernardi filled that role at San José State for three years (2010-12), helping the Spartans to a victory in the 2012 Military Bowl during his final campaign.
- Served as offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Northern Arizona for the 2004 campaign, his lone season in the FCS ranks, before moving to UNLV for the next five years (2005-09) as the Rebels’ offensive line/tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator.
- Coached for 10 seasons at UCLA (1994-2003), where he worked with Rocky Long and Ron Caragher. Long was the Bruins’ defensive coordinator in 1996 and 1997, while Caragher was a UCLA graduate assistant in 1994-95 before becoming a full-time assistant coach for the next seven years.
- Broke into the collegiate ranks at Arizona in 1980 under Larry Smith, who hired him to coach the Wildcats’ offensive tackles and tight ends. Worked in that capacity on the Tucson campus for the next seven seasons, save for a one-year run as Arizona’s wide receivers coach in 1985.
- Moved to Los Angeles ahead of the 1987 campaign when Smith was hired as head coach at USC. Over the next six seasons (1987-92), Bernardi coached the Trojan tackles and tight ends in addition to handling special teams coordinator duties.
- Served as head coach at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, Calif., in 1993 between stints at USC and UCLA.
- Began his coaching career before his 19th birthday in 1973 as an assistant at Bell-Jeff High School in Burbank, Calif. Spent two year there before assisting at his alma mater Monroe High in North Hills, Calif., for one season in 1975. Also served a four-year stint at Fountain Valley High in Orange County from 1976-79, where he mentored future Stanford All-American wide receiver Ken Margerum, who went on to a pro career with the NFL’s Chicago Bears.
Education
- Earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Cal State Northridge in 1976, and received his teaching credential from Southern California College (now Vanguard University).
Personal
- Bernardi and his wife, Leigh, are parents of three grown children, daughters, Marina and Briana, and son, Joe, who is currently the offensive line coach at San José State.
- His brother, Rob, was the long-time athletic director at Nicholls State University from 2001-16 and now works as a deputy athletic director at Louisiana-Monroe.
- Bernardi has been active in community service outside of coaching. He was a member of the ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) Association Los Angeles chapter when he was coaching at UCLA, assisting in its fundraising efforts. On two occasions, he represented the ALS Association in Washington, D.C., meeting with United States senators and congressmen.