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What makes Curt Cignetti so good?

Bamabuzzard

Bamabuzzard

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I'm not sure if anyone is watching Indiana but Cignetti has them balling out. I had no idea he coached under Nick and when you hear him talk you gear A LOT of Saban. Like DeBoer, he has a phenomenal record. He wins everywhere he goes. I wonder why he's 63 years old and has never gotten a shot at a big program?
 
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Cignetti was named Head Football Coach at Indiana University on November 30, 2023, to replace the recently dismissed Tom Allen. In one of his first press conferences after the hiring announcement, Cignetti was asked about how he plans to appeal to incoming players to the program. Cignetti answered, "It's pretty simple. I win," paused, and followed with, "Google me." In his first season, Cignetti guided the Hoosiers to their first 8-0 start since 1967.

:D
 
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To me, there are two major aspects to his success (aside from a winnable schedule).

His time under Nick Saban, watching a championship team be built and participating in it. That's extremely valuable experience, he was there alongside Kirby Smart, Bo Davis, Burton Burns, Joe Pendry some real accomplished professionals.

The other thing is the players at Indiana are coach-able. The NIL value of their most recent recruiting class was 35K on average, this compares to 188K for Ohio State for example. So, these are not guys who are there for the money, they are there because they want to compete. If you do the little things right (for instance Indiana has over 3 less penalties per game than Alabama) you are going to win some games.

So, he knows how to do it and his players want to do it. The trick of course will be how does he overcome major obstacles with that talent level, but what he's doing is a testament to proper methodology.
 
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I would really caution people against jumping to conclusions that CC is the next great coach because too often we see a historically mediocre to bad team with a bad couple of years just make an insane jump out of nowhere and then revert back to status quo. Mark Mangino’s 2007 magical run comes to mind. I think if we want to see consistent good years at a historically bad program then what Matt Campbell has done at Iowa St is one of the most impressive coaching jobs in the country.

My point is… unless you’re ready to call Clark Lea the next great coach then you are really overbuying Cignetti’s resurgence on the HC stage. Because right now I would say Lea’s only true competition for Coach of the Year Award should be Lanning. What CC is doing at Indy is great but unless he wins his next 3 games then it’s your typical Wisconsin/Iowa undefeated run that you see every 2-3 years where they dunk on the scrubs and get blasted by the big people.
 
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81usaf92 said:
I would really caution people against jumping to conclusions because too often we see a historically mediocre to bad team with a bad couple of years just make an insane jump out of nowhere and then revert back to status quo. Mark Mangino’s 2007 magical run comes to mind. I think if we want to see consistent good years at a historically bad program then what Matt Campbell has done at Iowa St is one of the most impressive coaching jobs in the country.

My point is… unless you’re ready to call Clark Lea the next great coach then you are really overbuying Cignetti’s resurgence on the HC stage. Because right now I would say Lea’s only true competition for Coach of the Year Award should be Lanning.
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To be fair, Mangino's tenure at Kansas was more than just that 12-1 season. He had several solid seasons beyond that season, and probably continues to get results if he isn't fired for misconduct. I agree with the sentiment, of course, but Mangino's tenure at Kansas was not drastically different than Math Campbell's. They both built their respective programs into window programs, where every few years, if things go their way, they have a chance to compete for a conference championship. I agree with the general sentiment, but I just wanted to say that, as an appreciator of Mangino's work. He was a solid coach, but a not-so-solid person, and that was ultimately his undoing.
 
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81usaf92 said:
I would really caution people against jumping to conclusions that CC is the next great coach because too often we see a historically mediocre to bad team with a bad couple of years just make an insane jump out of nowhere and then revert back to status quo. Mark Mangino’s 2007 magical run comes to mind. I think if we want to see consistent good years at a historically bad program then what Matt Campbell has done at Iowa St is one of the most impressive coaching jobs in the country.

My point is… unless you’re ready to call Clark Lea the next great coach then you are really overbuying Cignetti’s resurgence on the HC stage. Because right now I would say Lea’s only true competition for Coach of the Year Award should be Lanning. What CC is doing at Indy is great but unless he wins his next 3 games then it’s your typical Wisconsin/Iowa undefeated run that you see every 2-3 years where they dunk on the scrubs and get blasted by the big people.
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If he runs his program like Saban the success isn't a fluke. It doesn't mean he's going to win a NC at Indiana but it does mean he's earned his success.
 
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Bamabuzzard said:
If he runs his program like Saban the success isn't a fluke. It doesn't mean he's going to win a NC at Indiana but it does mean he's earned his success.
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Well here is the thing… Everyone went crazy because Mac won at Florida the first two years but failed to acknowledge that Mush recruited at a high level, Georgia was in transition, and Tennessee was in the dumpster. He avoided Alabama in the regular season and it just became a matter of winning those two games and possibly winning the LSU game to get to Atlanta. He did it the Saban way too, but there is a reason no one is calling for him back to major football and it’s mostly because everyone knows the Saban way fails far more times than it succeeds. You started seeing things unraveling in Mac’s 3rd season. So really are we being a bit premature with Cignetti since he has yet to even play a team with a pulse? Because we know what happened to Mac.

I’m not saying Saban’s philosophy doesn’t work… because it clearly does. What im saying is that Alabama and Georgia are truly unique circumstances in which the whole program from the players to the BOT bought into it. Many teams tried to mimic Belichick and Saban in thinking that hiring a former staffer was going to solve their problems. But they failed it takes a whole program overhaul to run it. No major proud organization is going to do that for a 63 year old coach that just now found his step in mid major ball on the twilight of his career. Let alone are they going to do it for some 30 year old coach up and comer either.

My point is that for everyone saying “the Saban way” needs to seriously ask the question “Could Cignetti run the Saban way at a place like Alabama or Ohio St with his resume, or is this only working because he is at a place that is just happy to be in a bowl game at the end of the year?” Because I seriously think trying to replicate Saban at major programs leads to more ruined careers than any sense of success. I mean outside of Kirby your best disciple is Dantonio, but again Michigan St has a vastly different set of priorities than Michigan or Ohio St.
 
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B1GTide said:
He has won everywhere he has coached.
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I get that, but he hasn't won anywhere of significance yet IMO. There are probably at least 20 teams that would be undefeated against Indiana's schedule so far.

They will likely end up only playing 1 team during the regular season that finishes in the top 25 (Ohio State). If (and how) they win that game, I may be more willing to give them more credit...
 
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CrimsonTitles said:
To be fair, Mangino's tenure at Kansas was more than just that 12-1 season. He had several solid seasons beyond that season, and probably continues to get results if he isn't fired for misconduct. I agree with the sentiment, of course, but Mangino's tenure at Kansas was not drastically different than Math Campbell's. They both built their respective programs into window programs, where every few years, if things go their way, they have a chance to compete for a conference championship. I agree with the general sentiment, but I just wanted to say that, as an appreciator of Mangino's work. He was a solid coach, but a not-so-solid person, and that was ultimately his undoing.
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He was okay for Kansas but after that magical season you started seeing his name on coaching searches and I always wondered “why”. The point is more that too many believe that one year magical runs at a mid P5 or G5 school means that the guy is a great coach. Yet we constantly see guys just wash out and wonder why everyone thought so highly of them to begin with. I mean there were seriously people who believed Scott Frost was going to turn Nebraska into a national championship contender and multiple schools get suckered into the myth of Willie Taggart. All because of one year.
 
Bamabuzzard said:
I'm not sure if anyone is watching Indiana but Cignetti has them balling out. I had no idea he coached under Nick and when you hear him talk you gear A LOT of Saban. Like DeBoer, he has a phenomenal record. He wins everywhere he goes. I wonder why he's 63 years old and has never gotten a shot at a big program?
Click to expand...

Quite the contrast to see him in his first year destroying Nebraska in Ruhle's second year
 
81usaf92 said:
I would really caution people against jumping to conclusions that CC is the next great coach because too often we see a historically mediocre to bad team with a bad couple of years just make an insane jump out of nowhere and then revert back to status quo. Mark Mangino’s 2007 magical run comes to mind. I think if we want to see consistent good years at a historically bad program then what Matt Campbell has done at Iowa St is one of the most impressive coaching jobs in the country.

My point is… unless you’re ready to call Clark Lea the next great coach then you are really overbuying Cignetti’s resurgence on the HC stage. Because right now I would say Lea’s only true competition for Coach of the Year Award should be Lanning. What CC is doing at Indy is great but unless he wins his next 3 games then it’s your typical Wisconsin/Iowa undefeated run that you see every 2-3 years where they dunk on the scrubs and get blasted by the big people.
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He’s too old to be the next great anything.

He left JMU because he’s nearing his mid sixties and will make more money in the next 4 years than he would have in another 20 years at JMU.

That said, he’s a heck of a coach.
 
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I always like to go to the number. Since he left Bama to take over at IUP in 2011, he's 127-35, with 5-10+ win seasons and, in FCS, 8 playoff appearances (including a championship game appearance with JMU). He also got JMU bowl eligible in their second season in FBS. If he were even 10 years younger he would be a hot name for bigger jobs.
 
He definitely has great energy and believe in the program. They will have a couple of test approaching at some point. I imagine 10 or 11 wins would be historic at IU for football.
 
B1GTide said:
Not with Indiana's talent. You guys don't get it. He is doing more with less. He has turned around several train wreck teams.
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I do think he is a good - possibly great - coach but even Indiana probably has more talent than any of the schools on their schedule to this point...
 
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