Tony Caljean joined the Gannon University football staff in May 2023 as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. He will begin his second season with the Golden Knights once again working with the linebackers while now also serving as the defensive coordinator.
A year ago Caljean’s special teams proved a strength for the Golden Knights. In particularly, senior placekicker Eric Scarpino evolved into a consensus All-American. Scarpino made 26-of-26 extra points and 16-of-17 field goals, including back-to-back game-winning kicks vs. Mercyhurst and Indiana (Pa.).
Scarpino became Gannon’s first AFCA Division II All-American since 2018 and the first Associated Press Division II All-American since 2017.
Earlier this year Caljean was selected to participate in the 2024 NCAA and NFL Football Coaches Academy. He was one of 25 NCAA coaches selected to take part in the Academy in Charlotte, N.C. from February 20-22.
The NCAA Academy is an impactful educational opportunity to build connections and develop leadership acumen to pursue career aspirations within football coaching. The program was delivered in collaboration with the NFL, bringing in 25 additional attendees, all of whom will be former NFL players coaching at various levels in the collegiate, high school, or professional ranks.
A native of New Jersey, Caljean has coached from coast to coast. Prior to joining the Gannon staff served as a volunteer recruiting analyst at UCLA. He joined the Bruins staff in November 2022 after Whittier College dropped football at the end of the season. Caljean had been the defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Whittier for two seasons.
In his short time at UCLA he assisted the Director of Player Personnel with scouting high school and transfer portal recruits. He helped to flip heralded five-star quarterback Dante Moore from Oregon to UCLA. The Bruins ended up signing the number two ranked transfer class in the country.
While Whittier decided to discontinue football this past fall, Caljean was part of a landmark move for the Poets. He negotiated the country’s first Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) deal for s Division III football team.
Caljean gained experience at the Division I level in 2020 while serving as the special teams and defensive quality control coach at Akron. Unfortunately the season was shortened by COVID-19.
From 2013-2019 Caljean served as an assistant coach at a pair of Division III institutions in Pennsylvania. He was named the linebackers coach at Franklin & Marshall in 2013. He spent two seasons at F&M, helping the Diplomats to a 7-4 record and a 38-14 win over Delaware Valley in the ECAC Southeast Bowl in 2013, followed by a 5-5 record in 2014.
That was followed by a five-year stint at Ursinus, where he began as the linebackers coach in 2015, added special teams coordinator duties in 2016, and in 2018 was appointed the recruiting coordinator. His special teams ranked 24th in Division III in punt return defense and 34th in net punting in 2019, along with being in the top 35 in net punting and top 50 in kickoff return defense in 2018.
Caljean’s first game with Ursinus resulted in a monumental 17-9 win in five overtimes at Division II Millersville to open the 2015 season. In 2017 Ursinus finished with a 6-4 record that included a 21-17 victory over eighth-ranked Johns Hopkins. It ended the Blue Jays' 40-game Centennial Conference winning streak. The following season the Bears posted an 8-3 record, capped by a 70-14 win over Misericordia in the Centennial/MAC Bowl Series. Caljean was part of a defensive staff that saw Ursinus allow 15 points or less to seven opponents. He coached three all-conference performers during his tenure.
Caljean began his coaching career at Bernards High School in Bernardsville, New Jersey. After two seasons at Bernards he started his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant for Bethel University in Tennessee. He coached the running backs for the ninth-ranked Wildcats, who won the Mid-South Conference title. He helped coordinate the seventh-best rushing offense in all of NAIA and mentored All-Conference running back Cordarius Mann, who finished second all-time in rushing yards in school history, and Conference Freshman Offensive Player of the Year Raquis Hale. Caljean also served as the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator.
A native of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, Caljean played outside linebacker at Lafayette College and was a part of the 2006 Patriot League Championship squad and a member of the 2007 team that led Division I-FCS in total defense. He graduated in 2010 from Lafayette with a Bachelor's of Arts in Government and Law. He is currently completing work on his Master’s Degree in Education from Bethel University.
Caljean is also renowned for his social media skills as a coach. With the twitter handle @coachkage, he was recently acclaimed to have one of the top college recruiting twitter accounts by collegeathleteinsight.com.
Caljean and his wife Chanel reside in Erie and are expecting a baby boy during the season.
