Army Black Knights Coach Sean Saturnio Named AFCA Assistant of Year

The Army West Point Black Knights now have an award-winning assistant coach in special teams coordinator Sean Saturnio.

Sep 14, 2019; San Antonio, TX, USA; Army Black Knights coach Sean Saturnio reacts before a game against the UTSA Roadrunners at Alamodome. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Army West Point Black Knights special teams coordinator Sean Saturnio was named the FBS assistant coach of the year earlier this week by the American Football Coaches Association.

The award was the latest honor the Army Black Knights have received, including coach Jeff Monken winning both the American Athletic Conference coach of the year award and the Buddy Teevens award, a new prize given for coaching innovation in the profession.

Earlier this year defensive coordinator Nate Woody was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach.

Saturnio was a finalist for the award in 2021 and 2022.

He is in his 11th year as an assistant under Monken and in his sixth season as the special teams coordinator.

Among the reasons for his award is the play of two particular Black Knights. Linebacker Elo Modozie has blocked two field goals and kicker Trey Gronotte has made all 50 of his extra points.

Blocking punts is also a point of emphasis. Under Saturnio, Army has blocked 11 punts in each of the last five seasons and has a total of 21 blocked punts and field goals, which is the most in the country in that span.

Before joining Army he was an assistant under Monken at Georgia Southern.

Army (11-2) is coming off a 31-13 loss to Navy on Saturday. Even with the loss, the Black Knights can still finish with a 12-win season, which would be a program first.

Army is heading for a bowl game for the first time since 2021. The Black Knights have been bowl-eligible for the past two seasons at 6-6 but did not participate in a game.

The Black Knights have played in the Independence Bowl before, which happened in 1996 under coach Bob Sutton. Army lost to Auburn in that game. That also happened to be Army’s first 10-win season.

Army has played five of its last six bowl games in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, dating back to 2010. That includes four appearances in the Armed Forces Bowl and another in the Heart of Dallas Bowl (now the First Responder Bowl). The only other bowl game in that span was the Liberty Bowl.

One assistant coach from the five divisions of college football were selected for their dedication to their teams and communities. A total of 67 nominees from Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, and NAIA were nominated in 2024.