James Madison needs a new head coach after Curt Cignetti on Thursday accepted the job at Indiana.
Cignetti went 52-9 in five seasons as JMU’s head coach, including a 19-4 record as an FBS program over the last two years and an 11-1 record this season. A source told The Athletic that Cignetti may coach JMU in its first bowl game.
Advertisement
“These were the best five years of my professional life,” Cignetti said in a statement. “We accomplished a lot every year but particularly the last two, and this season was so special. I had total intentions and plans to retire here. I had a great job. The university really upped their commitment and did everything possible to keep me and the staff here. They couldn’t have done any more than they did.”
The hire will be made by athletic director Jeff Bourne, who has led the department since 1999 but will step down in the spring. Bourne indicated he would prefer head coaching experience in the next coach, but it’s not a requirement.
In the 24 hours since the job opened, JMU has received significant interest from upper-tier Group of 5 head coaches and Power 5 coordinators, a program source said.
So how good is the JMU job? What names could get in the mix? Here are the factors to keep in mind.
This quickly became one of the best jobs in the Group of 5
JMU has been a winning program for a very long time. It hasn’t had a losing season since 2002 and has won at least 69 percent of its games in 10 consecutive seasons. This place knows how to win, which is why it continued to do so immediately upon moving up to the FBS ranks. If not for the NCAA transition rules, the Dukes might be playing in a New Year’s Six bowl.
It’s also withstood coaching changes before. When Everett Withers rebuilt JMU into a contender and left, Mike Houston came in and won an FCS national title. When Houston left, Cignetti came in, reached a championship game and continued the success at the FBS level. This is a program with a winning culture and infrastructure in place to keep this going.
How much is JMU willing to pay?
A school source told The Athletic that before Cignetti had taken Power 5 coaching interviews, the school had put forward a contract offer that would’ve made him the highest-paid coach in the Sun Belt, with assistant salary pool increases. Cignetti had a $677,000 salary, but the new deal would’ve gone above $1 million.
Advertisement
That would be the kind of salary range that can pull a quality Power 5 assistant or a Group of 5 head coach.
The facilities and infrastructure are good
There have been massive facilities upgrades across the school over the last decade. There’s a football-focused Plecker Athletic Performance Center connected to Bridgeforth Stadium. The stadium most recently expanded in 2011 and seats more than 24,000. There is an indoor practice facility that opened in 2018.
Since moving up to the FBS, the program has also made further investments in nutrition, staff and other amenities.
There is a lot of fan support
JMU’s average attendance this season was above capacity. Even before the season, JMU sold out its 8,718 season tickets, breaking last year’s record of 7,708. This is a passionate fan base that has only continued to grow since the FBS move. With an enrollment of more than 21,000, the school continues to grow as well.
Boosters in May launched the Montpelier Collective to support JMU through NIL.
🎳 Let's go bowling, JMU Nation!
📰 https://t.co/tDcliFN0Wy#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/uLcbFRCoN8
— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) November 26, 2023
So what names could get in the mix?
Based on conversations with industry sources, here are some coaches to keep an eye on.
Holy Cross head coach Bob Chesney continues to win in the Northeast, with five consecutive Patriot League championships, four FCS playoff appearances and a 19-8 record over the last three seasons. That included a win over FBS Buffalo in 2022 and a close call against Boston College this year. Chesney was also a finalist for the Syracuse job.
Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz led one of the best defenses in the country this season, holding both Michigan and Ohio State to fewer than 25 points. Diaz had a solid-if-unspectacular run as Miami head coach, with a 21-15 record and three bowl appearances in three years before he was ousted in favor of Mario Cristobal. He knows the region, and he coached at NC State from 2002 through 2005. He’s also currently in the mix for the Duke head coaching job.
Advertisement
South Carolina associate head coach Pete Lembo is one of the best special teams coordinators in the country and had successful head coaching runs at Lehigh (44-14), Elon (35-22) and Ball State (33-29) from 2001 through 2015. He’s since been an assistant at Maryland, Rice, Memphis and South Carolina. It worked out for JMU the last time it hired a former Elon head coach (Cignetti).
Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins continues to rise and has played an integral role in FSU’s turnaround and 12-0 start this season. At FSU, he inherited one of the worst offensive lines in the Power 5 and turned it into a very good group, and he added coordinator duties in 2022. Before FSU, he was Charlotte’s offensive coordinator in 2019, the only bowl season in program history. But Atkins, too, could hold out for bigger jobs.
NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson has been close to a few Power 5 jobs in the past. He’s been at NC State since 2019 and has 13 years of experience (in two stops) at nearby West Virginia. He’s been a Broyles Award nominee in each of the last two years and is also currently in the mix at Duke.
Florida A&M head coach Willie Simmons is 43-13 in five seasons after taking over a program coming off six consecutive losing seasons. His 2021 team became the first HBCU to play in the FCS playoffs since 2016, and this year’s team is 10-1 and playing for the SWAC championship. He’s also been the head coach at Prairie View A&M, spent five years at Middle Tennessee and one year at Clemson.
Maryland offensive coordinator Josh Gattis won the 2021 Broyles Award at Michigan as the Wolverines reached the College Football Playoff. He spent 2022 at Miami, and the 2023 Maryland offense finished fourth in the Big Ten in scoring. He’s a North Carolina native who has also coached at Alabama, Penn State and Vanderbilt.
Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak has done a solid job with the Scarlet Knights and went 20-15 as Maine’s head coach from 2016 through 2018. He went 10-4 in his last season and reached the FCS semifinals before joining the Minnesota staff. Rutgers’ defense held Ohio State’s offense to 28 points and Michigan’s offense to 24 points this year.
As far as internal replacements, offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri could be options, but Cignetti has said all three plan to follow him to Indiana.
Advertisement
Penn State co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter played an integral role in the Nittany Lions’ defense numbers mentioned above. Poindexter is a former Virginia player and coached at his alma mater from 2003 through 2013. He was in the mix for the Virginia job a few years ago that went to Tony Elliott.
(Photo: Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lGpnbm1hZnxzfJFsZmpqX2V%2BcLbAppysZZ2Wsaq%2Fzqdkn6efqa%2BiuMtmmqiZk522r7OMrJyaqpOdfA%3D%3D