Head football coach Chris Villarrial has announced the return of two Red Flash alumni to his coaching staff.

Scott Lewis becomes the program’s defensive coordinator and Ben Bruni is the team’s new inside linebackers’ coach.

“Scott is an alumnus and two-time All-American at linebacker for us,” said Villarrial. “He possesses the grit and knowledge to develop a tough defense with a championship mindset.”

Lewis graduated from Saint Francis in 2011 and spent the last four seasons at Nebraska-Kearney as the Lopers’ defense coordinator and inside linebackers coach.

Lewis is SFU’s all-time leader with 524 career tackles and 12.2 tackles per game. Both of these records rank in the top five all-time in FCS. He earned All-NEC honors four times and was a two-time All-American.

“As a former SFU student-athlete, I am very excited to work with our players and develop them both on and off the field,” said Lewis.

Bruni recorded 231 career tackles and 8.5 sacks in his four seasons as a player at SFU. His 89 tackles as a senior in 2018 led the team and his four fumble recoveries that year tied for first in FCS.

“We look forward to seeing Ben lead our linebackers on the field,” said Villarrial.

Bruni earned All-NEC honors as a senior.

“I am extremely excited to be back at Saint Francis,” said Bruni. “When I got the opportunity to come back and be a part of this program and school, I jumped at it.” 

Bruni coached baseball while teaching history at Walker Grant Middle School in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the 2019-20 academic year.