Coach Curt Cignetti to INDIANA

[iubb 2,492]

27 minutes ago, JSHoosier said:

Too bad it's behind a pay wall.

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BLOOMINGTON – The furious pace of his search for a new football coach, driven by his own self-imposed timeline, wore IU athletic director Scott Dolson down over the last week.

At one point, so tired from the relentless march of interviews, phone calls and meetings, Dolson found relief in a phone call from former IU basketball player and current trustee Quinn Buckner. "I’m not going to ask you anything about the search," Buckner said according Dolson, "I just want to make sure you’re doing OK."

But there was one moment when Dolson felt particularly energized. So enthusiastic was Indiana’s fourth-year athletic director following his first phone call with James Madison coach Curt Cignetti, Dolson hopped over from his office to tell Deputy Athletics Director Mattie White about it.

“This guy’s different,” Dolson told White. “I think he can win here.”

Thus began the process that eventually resulted in Cignetti replacing the “James Madison” in his title with “Indiana,” and culminated in a Friday news conference announcing Cignetti’s hiring as the Hoosiers’ new football coach.

“It’s a challenge that really got my juices flowing,” Cignetti told reporters. “I left a great job that I could’ve retired in, with a contract through 2030, and won a lot of football games, but sometimes you’ve got to make hard decisions in life. This was a hard decision for me.

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“You’ve got to be uncomfortable to grow, and I’m too young to stop growing. This is an exciting opportunity at a prestigious university in the top conference in the country. There’s no reason why we can’t be successful, pack the stadium and be a source of pride to the entire town of Bloomington and state of Indiana.”

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That, like so much else Cignetti said to Dolson through this week’s search, will have been music to the ears of an athletic director who, in his early days as a fundraising officer with IU’s Varsity Club, used to drive to golf outings with Bill Mallory.

A student manager on Bob Knight’s 1987 national championship team, Dolson knows most people attach him to IU’s basketball team first and foremost. But Dolson has fond memories of those road trips with Mallory to booster and fundraising events, picking the brain of the winningest coach in Indiana history about what it took for Mallory to build a consistent winner out of a historic also-ran.

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As chair of the Big Ten’s athletics directors group, Dolson is keenly aware of the value and importance of football. At a time when so much else in his department stands on even footing or better, Dolson found himself frustrated in recent months the Hoosiers could not find a competitive level of relevance in the richest conference’s most-lucrative sport.

When he fired Tom Allen last Sunday, Dolson did so intending to find a coach he was confident held a formula similar to the one his old golfing partner used to deliver six bowl berths in eight years across the prime of his tenure in Bloomington.

“We put together a profile,” Dolson said. “What do we need right now? What is exactly what we're looking for? If this goes well, what would a coach look like? What would they be all about?”

Dolson highlighted three key areas.

First, IU wanted a coach with extensive success running his own program, with ability to recruit and develop players consistently and, perhaps most pointedly, a history of working with quarterbacks.

 

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Second, the Hoosiers needed to be comfortable their choice would embrace and could thrive in the fluid and competitive NIL marketplace, name, image and likeness concerns only growing in importance in college football. Indiana’s partner collectives are prepared to arm Cignetti with $3 million-plus in NIL resources — IU needed to be sure anyone in his chair would have a clear-eyed plan for deploying them.

And lastly, Dolson wanted a winner. A coach with, as he put it, “some swagger.”

“We went quickly, Dolson said, “but we scoured the country, and fairly quickly, Curt identified himself as someone who was really different.”

The process moved as swiftly as Dolson had initially hoped.

Interest in the job exceeded Indiana’s expectations. Working with well-regarded search firm TurnkeyZRG, Dolson narrowed his focus to a list of roughly 10 coaches with whom he wanted to speak at least informally.

There were a handful of assistants among them — IndyStar understands both IU alum/Ohio State offensive coach Justin Frye and Michigan running backs coach Mike Hart got a nod — but Dolson’s focus on coaches with an established track record running their own programs never seriously wavered.

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As with any coaching search, there was a fair bit of public speculation that did not match private fact.

Toledo coach Jason Candle and former Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst emerged as serious candidates. Jon Gruden, whose support came from a small corner of the program’s booster base, was never under consideration.

Dolson began with phone calls and Zoom sitdowns, covering a lot of ground in a short space of time through more informal conversations. Cignetti began to separate himself then.

Working hand-in-hand with Indiana University President Pam Whitten — who Dolson said is available for help and guidance “anything I need, anything” — Dolson also consulted a small group of trusted confidants, across both the university and the Big Ten.

“I had her absolute, full attention,” Dolson said of Whitten. “There's absolutely no way we could have gotten this done without her.”

From those initial interviews, Dolson narrowed his focus to a small group of finalists, perhaps no more than three. Each received a much lengthier in-person interview.

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It was through that last step Cignetti established himself as IU’s favorite. No one impressed decisionmakers more, and despite James Madison having offered him a fresh contract with improved terms before Indiana’s interest became serious, once the Hoosiers made their financial commitment — including an improved pool of money for staffing — clear, negotiations were never a major concern.

A private plane belonging to a major Indiana booster made multiple trips to the airport serving Harrisonburg, Va., on Wednesday morning and afternoon. By Wednesday night, Dolson and Whitten had arrived at a clear and present first choice.

The following afternoon, Cignetti was announced as IU’s 30^th head football coach.

“He is an excellent recruiter, player developer, certainly evaluator,” Dolson said. “And the final thing with Curt, which was really the final piece of this, is that he's the type of person that will fit here. He's a great person. He's got an incredible work ethic, and he's got high character. For us, he was a perfect fit."

 

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As with any coaching change, a lot is happening in a short space of time. A lot already has.

From Sunday morning to Friday afternoon, Dolson toiled to find a man he believed could deliver the kind of success he dreams of, the level of which Indiana fans have been starved for much of the last 50 years. He went home Friday night believing he had.

During her opening remarks, Whitten repeated an answer Cignetti gave during one of their discussions. Asked how he managed to win everywhere he’d been, Cignetti answered, by waging a tenacious battle against complacency.

The answer stuck with Whitten. When she finished her remarks, Whitten closed by turning to IU’s new football coach, and telling him, “You were born to be a Hoosier, sir. Born to be a Hoosier.”

To which Cignetti, smiling, said simply: “Agreed.”

https://web.archive.org/web/20231202233123/https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2023/12/01/indiana-football-how-curt-cignetti-became-the-coach-in-96-hours/71762935007/

[rcbowla 7,020]

Why would people pay the Indy Star for the same info they could get by simply watching the presser? I'm serious here, I don't think he wrote anything that wasn't covered in press conference.

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[Hoosierfan222 734]

37 minutes ago, rcs29 said:

Why would people pay the Indy Star for the same info they could get by simply watching the presser? I'm serious here, I don't think he wrote anything that wasn't covered in press conference.

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Same, this article was written like it was an insider take about what happened but it was mostly just taking quotes from the press conference

[maharkn 1,686]

Wasting no time getting offers out. Just offered Kai Greer 4* OL

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[8bucks 6,347]

57 minutes ago, rcs29 said:

Why would people pay the Indy Star for the same info they could get by simply watching the presser? I'm serious here, I don't think he wrote anything that wasn't covered in press conference.

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I agree. What I would love to know, but doubt Dolson would share is:

when did he decide to make a change 

who was in his initial list

when did he first start making contacts (I know we can know this but would love to know)

did Cigs turn us down only to have us come back with a better package or did he counter and he had to go work on it. 
 

these are things I thought of when I saw the title of the Indy Star article but you are right there was nothing new in it 

[RoadRage 1,608]

I bet Cig can't cheer for the team the way Tom did!

[Crimson and Cream 5,777]

15 minutes ago, RoadRage said:

I bet Cig can't cheer for the team the way Tom did!

I'd bet money he doesn't score more TD's than Tom!

[Hoosierfan1901 6,088]

https://x.com/zachosterman/status/1731328712321253772?s=46&t=0mbJ_TT4MQ8KZKv29ZqhSg

[Dalton26 16,892]

So it sounds like so far we have 

Curt Cignetti - HC

Mike Shanahan - OC

Bryant Haines - DC

Tino Sunseri - QB/Passing Game

Bob Bostad - OL

Pat Kuntz - DL

 

Looks like a damn good start to a staff  

 

 

[JSHoosier 19,825]

9 minutes ago, Dalton26 said:

So it sounds like so far we have 

Curt Cignetti - HC

Mike Shanahan - OC

Bryant Haines - DC

Tino Sunseri - QB/Passing Game

Bob Bostad - OL

Pat Kuntz - DL

 

Looks like a damn good start to a staff  

 

 

Plus his strength coach, Derek Owings, and his assistant HC/ST coach, Grant Cain.  Those have been mentioned in this thread already.

Here's a link to his JMU staff since it looks like a lot of them are joining him.

https://jmusports.com/sports/football/coaches

Several wore multiple hats, which I will imagine continues. So Shanahan as OC/WR, Haines as DC/LB, Cain as AHC/ST/TE.

 

[rcbowla 7,020]

https://x.com/zachosterman/status/1731328712321253772?s=46&t=0mbJ_TT4MQ8KZKv29ZqhSg

That's a good one to have coming along.

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[rcbowla 7,020]

And I'll reiterate that if the CB and S coaches don't come along that's probably for the best

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[Stuhoo 79,703]

It’s important that we dedicate a budget to paying and retaining quality assistants. While we certainly have far more ability to do so than JMU, it’s good to see that we’ve done what it takes to allow Cig to bring his staff with him.

[Hovadipo 55,089]

Idk if any of the guys he brought so far fit the bill, but I’d like to see an assistant or two with some west coast ties. Playing 1-2 games a year out there means we’ll have a footprint, and you need someone with connections to those areas. There is so much skill talent to be had. Like Miami, LA HS football is very cliquey among the HS coaches and who recruits their schools. 

[mamasa 15,150]

1 hour ago, Hovadipo said:

Idk if any of the guys he brought so far fit the bill, but I’d like to see an assistant or two with some west coast ties. Playing 1-2 games a year out there means we’ll have a footprint, and you need someone with connections to those areas. There is so much skill talent to be had. Like Miami, LA HS football is very cliquey among the HS coaches and who recruits their schools. 

Man, you’re venturing into Biggie vs Tupac territory now…

[JSHoosier 19,825]

Staff tracker

https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/tracking-curt-cignettis-indiana-football-staff-additions/

Still need RB, CB, S and recruiting coordinator.

[Hovadipo 55,089]

He’s pretty much told us that it doesn’t matter related to his IU duties, but Cig and JMU will play Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 23. AWESOME matchup. That’ll be a fun one. 

[cbp4iu 1,388]

14 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

He’s pretty much told us that it doesn’t matter related to his IU duties, but Cig and JMU will play Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 23. AWESOME matchup. That’ll be a fun one. 

He’s not coaching the bowl game now 

[WhiteyMcSpeed 102]

James Madison’s Offensive Line coach will be coaching them in their bowl game. 

[Hoosierfan222 734]

Full attention on IU with the portal opening now