Sam Pagano
High School: Attended Pueblo Central H.S., graduating in 1955... Played three years of football for the Wildcats at tackle and place kicker... Scored 29 points on Points After Touchdowns (PATs) - four in 1952, 14 in 1953 and 11 in 1954 as recorded in the "The Steel City Football Almanac" by David Mihalick.
College: Went to Pueblo Junior College and played two years of football under under coach Elliot Plese & coach Joe Prater (1955-56)...Transferred to Denver University where he played linebacker and guard for the Pioneers for two seasons (1957-58) before graduating in 1959...Denver University dropped football in 1960 (one year after Pagano left)...Sam attended the first try out camp for the Denver Broncos at Colorado School of Mines as a Kicker - got cut prior to 1st Game.
Coaching Background: Pagano began his coaching career as an assistant football coach at Adams State College in Alamosa, CO for a year (1958-59)...He moved to the high school level and coach at Boulder H.S., in Boulder CO for eight seasons...Sam spend the next 21 years (1968-89) as the head football coach at Boulder Fairview H.S., where his teams compiled a record of 164-58-4 and won two state championships (1979 and 1987) and gained a co-championship in 1978...Retired from coaching football after the 1989 season.
Professional Ranks: Pagano returned to the sidelines in 1994, coaching Bergamo, Italy to a 14-1 record and a runner-up finish in the Italian Super Bowl...He coached briefly at Taipei then returned to Europe and coached in Germany and France...He returned to Bergamo in 2002 and closed out his coaching career with a 16-0 Team and a Eurobowl Championship...Chuck Pagano, Sam’s oldest Son, Chuck, is the coach of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts...He previously coached with the Baltimore Ravens...Sam’s younger son John Pagano was a defensive coordinator of San Diego Chargers.
Occupation: 21 years Coach at Fairview “Knights” High School in Boulder.