Rob Barbieri was hired to the football staff in the summer of 2019 as the defensive line coach and a year later was promoted to director of operations and linebackers coach.
In his first season, the Poughquag, N.Y., helped the Engineers hold the opposition to only 75.8 rushing yards per
game. The defense had back-to-back shutouts and kept foes to fewer than 20 points in five games.
Before coming to Troy, Barbieri spent a year at Assumption, where he coached the defensive line for the Division II Greyhounds. He also assisted with game planning, film breakdown and recruiting, all of which he does for Rensselaer.
In 2017 he was at Division I Middle Tennessee State, where he was the defensive quality control coach while also working with the safeties. He also aided with special teams and practice preparation for the Blue Raiders, who won the RayCom Media Camellia Bowl.
Barbieri spent the spring semester of his senior year at coaching the inside linebackers while also assisting with recruiting and operations at Ithaca, his alma mater. He began his coaching career as a summer intern at Marist football, handling game film analysis and assisting with prospect camps.
As a defensive lineman for the Bombers, Barbieri was a four-year letter winner and a three-year starter who had 52 solo tackles and 53 assisted stops in his career. A captain as a senior, he also had 21.5 tackles for lost yards (71), seven sacks (38 yards lost), four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He was named All-Empire 8 once on a team that won a pair of conference titles.
A member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Ithaca College Leadership Academy, Barbieri earned a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management.
Updated December 2020
