According to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, the Indiana Hoosiers are close to finalizing a contract with current James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti to be their next head coach.
Cignetti has led the Dukes to a combined 19-4 record since they moved up to the FBS level. He has an overall record of 52-9 at JMU and 11-1 this season. Due to the lack of bowl-eligible teams, the Dukes are eligible for the postseason.
Cignetti returns to the Power Five for the first time since he was an assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama from 2007 to 2010. He also had stops at Pittsburgh and North Carolina State. He led the IUP Crimson Hawks from 2011 to 2016 and Elon Phoenix in 2017 and 2018 before taking over the Dukes’ football program.
Overall, Cignetti has a head coaching record of 119-35 and a combined playoff record of 10-8. He was recently named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year for the 2023 season.
Sources: Indiana is finalizing a deal to make James Madison coach Curt Cignetti the school’s next coach. He led JMU to an 11-1 season in 2023.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 30, 2023
Cignetti will feel the role left vacated by Tom Allen, who was fired after the last three lackluster seasons with the Hoosiers. This feels like a strong higher by an up-and-comer in the college ranks. He played quarterback at West Virginia before joining the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant in 1983 with the Pitt Panthers.
It remains to be seen who he might bring to Bloomington once the hire becomes official. Curt Cignetti has never suffered a losing season as a head coach in a tenure that spans 13 seasons.