Sione Ta'ufo'ou

Biography

Travers Family Head Football Coach Tosh Lupoi announced the return of Sione Ta'ufo'ou as the team's assistant inside linebackers coach on January 15, 2026. Ta'ufo'ou enters his second season with the Bears in 2026 after working with the defensive line and outside linebackers last year. Ta'ufo'ou spent two campaigns as the defensive coordinator at UAB (2023-24) following a successful career as a prep coach, most recently at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville (2020-22), where his teams reached three state title games with wins in the last two. He also served as an assistant head coach in 2022 when his defense allowed only 5.5 points per game. In three seasons at Lipscomb, Ta'ufo'ou's squads posted a 37-4 record and 14 shutouts. He was previously a high school head coach at Menlo Atherton (2010-14) and Archbishop Mitty (2017-19) after beginning his coaching career with two campaigns as an assistant at Menlo School (2008-09). He earned three Coach of the Year awards during his tenure as a head coach. Four players who Ta'ufo'ou has been directly responsible for coaching - Desmond Little, BJ Mayes, Dacarrion "Mac" McWilliams, Joseph Vaughn - have gone on to play in the NFL. A native of San Carlos, California, Ta'ufo'ou played high school football at St. Francis (CA) and became an all-state linebacker at Community of San Mateo Community College. Following San Mateo, Ta'ufo'ou continued his football career at the University of Mary and graduated with a degree in business administration.