Joe Conlin Adds Two to Fordham Football Staff

Bronx, N.Y. - Fordham University football head coach Joe Conlin has announced the addition of two assistant coaches to his staff today. Steve Thames has been named Assistant Defensive Backs/Safeties coach and Vincent DiGaetano has been named Volunteer Special Teams Quality Control Assistant coach.
 
Thames joins the Fordham staff after serving as an assistant at Dartmouth College the past two years. In 2016 he served as the offensive quality control/assistant wide receivers coach for the Big Green before being elevated to the running backs/returners coach in 2017. The Big Green closed out the 2017 season with a 54-44 win over Princeton where running back Jared Gerbino gained 202 yards and scored four touchdowns, becoming the first Dartmouth player in six years to top 200 rushing yards in a game. Dartmouth finished the year ranked third in the Ivy League in rushing, averaging 180.0 yards/game. Following the season two Big Green running backs received All-Ivy honors with Hunter Hagdorn placed on the second team and Ryder Stone being named honorable mention.
 

In his first year in Hanover, Thames assisted the offensive coordinator with the day-to-day objectives and helped mentor Ivy League Rookie of the Year Hunter Hagdorn.
 
A 2015 graduate of New Hampshire with a degree in sociology, Thames was a valuable defensive back throughout his four years, playing in 46 games while collecting 122 tackles and intercepting seven passes, three of which he returned for touchdowns. The Wildcats reached the FCS Playoffs in each of his four seasons, winning CAA titles in 2012 and 2014, advancing as far as the semifinals during his junior campaign. He earned All-CAA honors as a senior in 2014.  
 
Thames quickly got into college coaching after finishing up at UNH, serving as an intern with the football team at James Madison, which shared the Colonial Athletic Association crown in 2015. He worked directly with the Dukes' secondary and was responsible for weekly film breakdown and scouting reports.
 
DiGaetano comes to Rose Hill after two years at Wagner College where he served as a defensive assistant, having previously worked on the defensive side of the ball for several football programs within the New York City metropolitan area.
 
Prior to his stint at Wagner, DiGaetano was the linebackers coach at Nassau Community College in 2015, having previously spent ten years on the staff at SUNY-Maritime. From 2008-2014, the 1999 Wagner College graduate served as defensive coordinator for the Privateers, which followed a three-year stint (2005-07) where he served as special teams coordinator at SUNY-Maritime from 2005-07. 
 
Prior to Maritime, DiGaetano spent four seasons as the defensive coordinator at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where he coached two future NFL players in Ramon Guzman (Indianapolis Colts) and Dequan Mobley (NY Jets).
 

In 2014, Coach DiGaetano was a finalist for the AFCA Assistant Coach of the year in Division III. He also served as Defensive Coordinator of the USA Select Team for the 2015 International Bowl which defeated the IFAF World Team 20-15 at the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium.
 
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, Vincent has presented this NFL-sponsored program to many high school and youth football programs. His efforts in this area are helping to create a better, safer game for players across the nation.
 
A lifelong educator, DiGaetano currently serves as principal at the Bronx Alternate Learning Center after serving as New York City's Department of Education Bronx Borough Safety Director for seven years. In June, 2017, he was a recipient of the 2017 Sloan Public Service Award, widely regarded as the Nobel Prizes of NYC government, this honor is annually bestowed upon six outstanding civil servants whose work performance and commitment to the public transcend not merely the ordinary but the extraordinary.
 
DiGaetano earned a Bachelor's of Arts in Sociology from Wagner in 1999 and a Master's of Science in Education in 2001.

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 Oakdale, N.Y. with his wife Jennifer and daughters Madeleine and Olivia.