Tag: Curt Cignetti

Former Wisconsin starting offensive lineman commits to Indiana

Former starting Wisconsin offensive lineman commits to Indiana

Versatile Wisconsin offensive lineman Trey Wedig entered the transfer portal a few weeks ago. After a brief stay, the now-former Badger has committed to Indiana.

Wedig will be reunited with former Wisconsin OL coach Bob Bostad at IU as the program undergoes a facelift under new head coach Curt Cignetti.

The former Badger played four seasons in Madison. He started eight games for the Badgers in 2022, five coming at right tackle, two at right guard and one at left guard. He then appeared in 10 games this season, logging more than 250 snaps as the team’s versatile sixth offensive lineman.

With consistent playing time in question entering 2024, Wedig is off to an opportunity at Indiana that should see him start immediately.

2023-2024 College Football Coaching Carousel

Texas A&M hires Duke’s Mike Elko as the coaching carousel continues to spin.

The end of the college football season is here and the coaching carousel is once again getting fired up. This season saw two early head coaching changes within the Big Ten to get an early jump on things, but more coaching changes are popping up as we close in on the end of another regular season around the nation.

We’ll keep track of all of the head coaching changes in our updated coaching carousel tracker to see what head coaches are out and who is replacing them. This will be updated daily as needed with the latest head coaching changes as jobs open up and are filled. As is so often the case in college football, one coaching vacancy being filled will lead to another opening popping up as a result.

As of Thursday, Dec. 8 there are 2 head coaching vacancies in college football, including 1 power conference job to fill. A total of 19 head coaching changes have been made this year.

Below is the updated chart for this year’s edition of the head coaching carousel in college football. After that is a bit more detail on each job opening, listed in alphabetical order.

Report: Former Wisconsin coach set to be retained under new staff at Indiana

Report: Former Wisconsin coach set to be retained under new staff at Indiana

The Indiana Hoosiers made a few splashes in the last few weeks, firing longtime head coach Tom Allen after a disastrous 3-9 season. It then hired one of the hotter coaching names on the market: former James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti.

Cignetti had the Dukes at 11-1 this season after an 8-3 2022 campaign. He is no Jonathan Smith (former Oregon State coach, now at Michigan State), but the college football world agrees he did a terrific job at James Madison.

One piece of Cignetti taking over at Indiana is how he’ll handle the staff around him. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported there is one assistant coach set to be retained: former Wisconsin offensive line coach Bob Bostad.

Bostad was in Madison from 2006-2011 as tight ends coach, run game coordinator and offensive line coach. He then was the program’s inside linebackers coach from 2017-2021, before Paul Chryst moved him to coach the offensive line entering the 2022 season. Once Chryst was fired, Bostad took a job under Allen at Indiana.

Bostad is experienced along the offensive line, knows how to recruit the midwest and has a good track record as an assistant coach. Cignetti’s move to retain him with the new staff should prove to be a smart one.

New Indiana football coach throws shade at Purdue, Michigan, and yes … Ohio State

Them there is fightin’ words. #GoBucks!

The new Indiana football coach didn’t waste any time stirring the pot at his introduction during the Indiana – Maryland men’s basketball game on Friday night. Curt Cignetti who was lured away from James Madison in recent weeks decided to get everyone’s attention with his first public comments as the Hoosier’s new man in charge.

Given the microphone to address the raucous crowd at Assembly Hall, Cignetti riled up the fanbase with a “Purdue sucks!” which set off an eruption from fans. A fun little jab at your biggest rival is exactly the kind of fire fans want to hear, but the new head coach didn’t stop there. Feeling the moment, Cignetti continued on “… but so does Michigan and Ohio State!”

I suppose you want to make a splash as a head coach in your first public appearance to let your base know you mean business. Ohio State fans probably even agree with part of that statement. But choose your words wisely… Buckeye fans also have a long memory.

I’m sure it’s all in good fun, but calling out the two giants in your conference where you have a combined 22 wins and 141 losses against each, may not be the best idea.

But hey, we’ll take spicing up the game with Indiana to make things a little more interesting. Next season, the Hoosiers get Michigan at home on November 9 and then after a bye week, travel to Ohio Stadium on November 23 and I’m certain receipts will be kept. Go Bucks!

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on “X” (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. 

Broncos backup QB teases switch to coaching college football

Broncos backup quarterback Ben DiNucci (jokingly) teased himself as a hypothetical candidate to replace Curt Cignetti at James Madison.

Denver Broncos backup quarterback Ben DiNucci has (jokingly) teased himself as a hypothetical candidate to become the next James Madison football coach after Curt Cignetti left the program to coach Indiana.

“Not saying I would. Not saying I wouldn’t. Just saying my phone is open @JMU,” DiNucci tweeted from his official Twitter/X page on Thursday.

DiNucci, 27, played at Pittsburgh from 2015-2017 before transferring to JMU in 2018. In two seasons with the Dukes, DiNucci went 479-of-687 passing for 5,716 yards with 45 touchdowns against 18 interceptions. He also rushed 229 times for 1,002 yards and 16 touchdowns.

The dual-threat quarterback was picked by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft and he ended up appearing in three games and earned one start as a rookie. After spending the 2021 season on Dallas’ practice squad, DiNucci played for the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons last spring, leading the league with 20 touchdown passes.

DiNucci signed with the Broncos in May after a successful tryout. He now serves as a third-string backup quarterback on the practice squad. His tweet was posted in jest, but DiNucci might have a future in coaching down the road. Denver’s current quarterbacks coach, Davis Webb, was a backup in the NFL last fall, and he’s just one year older than DiNucci.

Perhaps the backup QB will return to JMU someday in the future.

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Report: Indiana to hire James Madison head coach

Curt Cignetti has never suffered a losing season as a head coach in a tenure that spans 13 seasons. 

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.

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.