Anthony Cicione joined the RMU Football staff in April 2025 as defensive backs coach.
Cicione spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons as defensive coordinator at Otterbein where he coached a defensive unit that led the Ohio Athletic Conference in tackles (72.8/game) and was third in interceptions (14). Five Cardinals were named to OAC All-Conference. During his first season, the defense ranked fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference in both passing yards allowed per game (199.7) and interceptions (13). His unit also delivered a top-half finish in total sacks with a pair of players earning All-OAC honors.
Prior Otterbein, Cicione spent two seasons at Slippery Rock, serving as defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach. During his time on staff, The Rock went a combined 19-6 and made the NCAA Division II Playoffs both times. The team finished the 2022 campaign ranked No. 16 in the national poll.
Cicione arrived at Slippery Rock in 2021, inheriting a defense that allowed opponents to throw for an average of 228 yards per game the previous season. In his first campaign, the defense ranked sixth nationally and set a new single-season record in fewest passing yards allowed (143 yards/game).
Cicione served as the defensive graduate assistant with the Akron football program, where he worked with the defensive backs for two years while working on his master's degree during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
In 2018, Cicione joined the staff at Eastern Kentucky where he served as Defensive Quality Control coach. The Colonels ranked second in the Ohio Valley Conference in total defense.
Cicione was an assistant coach at Case Western Reserve where he led the Spartans to the 2017 Presidents' Athletic Conference championship, a second round berth in the Division III Playoffs and a national ranking.
As a student-athlete, Cicione began his playing career at Capital University before finishing at John Carroll. The standout defensive back was named All-OAC for Capital after leading the league in interceptions. He then became part of a decorated two-year stretch at JCU in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The Blue Streaks posted a combined 21-2 record in the span, winning the 2016 OAC championship before a memorable run to the NCAA semifinals. John Carroll defeated a pair of No. 1-ranked teams that season in Mount Union and Wisconsin-Whitewater.
