I could. In a heartbeat. This Indiana team is reminding me of 2011/2012 Alabama.
Alabama: Could you even imagine Curt Cignetti at Alabama?
- Thread starter BigAlinKnoxville
- Start date
Dreaming is free and best done while sleeping, otherwise you are wasting your time.
He would lose players in the portal just like Saban and DeBoer.
Indiana’s core is made up of upperclassmen that NOBODY WANTED when they were younger, and they weren’t poached. The group stayed together at JMU and got pay raises when they got to Indiana. The team AVERAGES 23 years old.
Yes, he got some transfers, but at some point he will have to be dang near perfect in the evaluation or this team will fall back to the pack.
Indiana’s core is made up of upperclassmen that NOBODY WANTED when they were younger, and they weren’t poached. The group stayed together at JMU and got pay raises when they got to Indiana. The team AVERAGES 23 years old.
Yes, he got some transfers, but at some point he will have to be dang near perfect in the evaluation or this team will fall back to the pack.
This year’s Indians team had all the stars line up perfectly to get them where they are today. The roster is full of veteran players with plenty of experience, along with a solid quarterback who will likely be the #1 pick in the draft. They’re led by a coach who knows how to get the best out of each player similar to how Saban did a few years ago. On top of that, the regular season schedule couldn’t have been any easier. I had my doubts about how good Indiana really was, but so far they look like the best team in the country. Let’s see how the Hoosiers handle success, because from now on they’ll be the hunted in the BIG.
At this point we really don't know if Cignetti is the next Nick Saban or the next Larry Coker.
Not sure he could replicate what he has built at IU at Bama...at IU he took over the most losing program in NCAA history so a blank slate..and was given all the freedom to do what he wanted because of the expectations. At Bama, we would have had a talented squad, a great recruiting class and pressure to maintain a certain standard...very different circumstances. Add in no patience from fans, admin, boosters and he may have been gone in a year for losing 3+ games if he had tried to wholesale our roster. That said, I think he could have been groomed to take over as the associate HC and that may have been successful...what is also interesting is that Saban coached with Cignetti's father...so he knew him for a while before he was on staff.
The only things I can say about Cignetti right now.....he's got him an excellent team this year. He's got mostly the same staff he's had and a large amount of the players he's had over the years. So he's got a perfect storm THIS YEAR!!
I can also say he knows how to evaluate and fill needs via the portal very very well.
I can also say he knows how to evaluate and fill needs via the portal very very well.
Wait, so last year they made the playoffs and lost big in the quarterfinals to Notre Dame. Same as us this year but in his first year but this was Deboer’s second year. He lost players off that team last year but went out and identified that #1 QB in the portal and others and now has by far the best team in the country. And now, they have already got commitments from a bunch of key portal guys for next year all while still playing in the playoffs. He has this portal era already figured out. Look at the contrast compared to our staff.
Saban said it on the GD panel, Cignetti is one of the best in the country at player evaluations. They've already filled theyre portal player list for next season and theyre not even done playing. His player evaluation prowess ain't going anywhere.
Here we go again.
Even if we fired CKD right now...which would be utter stupidity (cause half the team would leave), do you think IU would let us hire CC away after their dream season??? Mark Cuban would probably finance the raise he'd get!
I'm not going to sit here and say he hasn't done a lot of things right and he isn't a good coach, but time will tell if he can do it year after year.
Will he continue to build portal teams of low ranked players and coach 'em up? Or will he start adding high ranked players and have to deal with NIL distractions? I'm almost certain he'll have to do the latter and then he'll start dealing with player personnel issues and losing position coaches.
I'm of the opinion he's a good coach who has gotten real lucky this year with lack of injuries, low-ranked players panning out and playing in a conference that wasn't very good top to bottom.
It's like the universe lined up for this team to be where they are. It's a Cinderella story.
I figure they'll beat Miami, but wake me up when he's won another title.
Even if we fired CKD right now...which would be utter stupidity (cause half the team would leave), do you think IU would let us hire CC away after their dream season??? Mark Cuban would probably finance the raise he'd get!
I'm not going to sit here and say he hasn't done a lot of things right and he isn't a good coach, but time will tell if he can do it year after year.
Will he continue to build portal teams of low ranked players and coach 'em up? Or will he start adding high ranked players and have to deal with NIL distractions? I'm almost certain he'll have to do the latter and then he'll start dealing with player personnel issues and losing position coaches.
I'm of the opinion he's a good coach who has gotten real lucky this year with lack of injuries, low-ranked players panning out and playing in a conference that wasn't very good top to bottom.
It's like the universe lined up for this team to be where they are. It's a Cinderella story.
I figure they'll beat Miami, but wake me up when he's won another title.
I wasn't really coming from an angle of, "Let's fire DeBoer and hire Cignetti!" At all.
It was more a hypothetical, as in, imagine what Cignetti could do with a roster full of Alabama-grade recruits. No coach on the planet could just walk into Tuscaloosa or anywhere else and win the NC in his first year.
But in the big picture, it seems that he's done a lot with a little as opposed to doing relatively little with a lot.
IU has had a magical year of a lot of stuff that went right when there was really no "proof" what CC did (bringing in 2 and 3 stars, especially) would work, but it did.
Even their QB was just average at Cal last year!
Alot of stuff came together to produce this result = confluence (layman's definition).
I think we'd certainly have some success but he was off the radar when we were looking for a coach. Coaches and recruits have one thing in common. In both cases there are some hidden gems but also some highly touted people who turn out to be busts. It's tough to know in advance sometimes how a player or coach is going to perform.
Interesting to see how Cignetti will do in 2026 after the losses of Mendoza and Company.
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