Alabama: Could you even imagine Curt Cignetti at Alabama?

[BamaMoon]

Interesting to see how Cignetti will do in 2026 after the losses of Mendoza and Company.

And...

- getting everybody's best shot in the B1G
- dealing with any stars that get some NIL $
- dealing with assistant coaches who get head coaching offers
- having key people get injured (they've had very few key injuries)

 

[Bamabuzzard]

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.

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

 

[BigAlinKnoxville]

Interesting to see how Cignetti will do in 2026 after the losses of Mendoza and Company.

Yeah, that should be interesting. Although, I suspect he's going to keep right on winning. Maybe not on the level of this year's team, but it definitely won't be the traditional Indiana.

 

[smokies1]

Going from Saban to Cignetti wouldn’t be fair to the rest of college football, what he’s doing with ZERO five stars on the team is beyond impressive

 

[BigAlinKnoxville]

Going from Saban to Cignetti wouldn’t be fair to the rest of college football, what he’s doing with ZERO five stars on the team is beyond impressive

I agree, but I have zero desire to be "fair" to the rest of college football.

 

[M Squires]

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.

His first team at Indiana went to the college football playoffs with a whole new roster. This year? He only returned four defensive starters and you are seeing the results. Next year he returns a minimum of six defensive starters and as many as eight.

It’s not the names of the players. It’s the mindset of the players and the coaching staff. And that is returning; all of the staff.

An example? Last night‘s most impactful defensive player was Daniel Ndukwe, a two star true sophomore 19-year-old defensive end in his second game as a starter due to multiple injuries. He had three tackles, two sacks, one fumble caused, one fumble recovered, and a blocked punt. That’s in his second game in college football that he played more than 10 snaps.

That’s not raw talent and that’s not experience. That’s coaching, development, scheme, and identification of people that they want in the program.

 

[M Squires]

Going from Saban to Cignetti wouldn’t be fair to the rest of college football, what he’s doing with ZERO five stars on the team is beyond impressive

Going from Tom Allen to Cignetti wasn’t fair to the rest of college football

 

[M Squires]

Also, 3/5 of the offensive line is returning, Becker and possibly Cooper are returning at wide receiver, and the running back position could potentially be upgraded.

Finally, Josh Hoover is considerably more accomplished coming to IU than Mendoza was. He won’t be better than Mendoza, but he’s a really good college quarterback that was identified by Cignetti because he’s really smart and the best RPO quarterback available.

 

[Bamacracker]

His style works with 2–3 stars. Not sure if the Primadonna would play for this guy.

 

[mlh]

His style works with 2–3 stars. Not sure if the Primadonna would play for this guy.

If you can get that kind of results playing 2-3 stars, why put up with 5-star primadonnas?

 

[CrimsonTitles]

I wouldn't even want Cignetti if we could get him. For starters, we already have a good (and much younger) coach who has done a pretty good job so far, given the circumstances. Bottom line is, we finished the same as Georgia and Ohio State this year, and I don't hear either of those teams complaining about their coach. As for Cignetti, he is a grade A jerk with zero class, and he would be a terrible ambassador for our program. I don't care how good you are, act like you've.been there before. It's oh so very clear that Cignetti hasn't.

 

[SeventhHeavenRanch7777@gm]

I could. In a heartbeat. This Indiana team is reminding me of 2011/2012 Alabama.

Absolutely. Mendoza was like the 70th ranked QB coming out of high school. Yes I know he played at other colleges before a . Indiana, but CC can find talent. I would love to have him as a HC. Hes tough hes determined he is motivated and strategic. Hes only lost 2 games i believe in two seasons at Indiana.

 

[BigAlinKnoxville]

Former coaches have shown what wins at Alabama.

Coach Bryant was all business.
Coach Stallings was all business.
Coach Saban was all business.

And despite the way he tucked tail and ran, Dennis Franchione was all business and we were starting to win under him.

Cignetti is all business.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Right now? Sure, Cignetti looks like a winner with a capital W.

But as I've said in previous threads, he landed at the perfect place at the perfect time. He may well win a NC this year and that doesn't mean he could have done so at Bama or will be able to do so going forward.

Catching lighting in a bottle will be more common in the modern 'buy a team' world we live in now. Sustaining it (or doing so at an established power where signing a team of aging 3* players won't work) may well prove impossible.

 

[BigAlinKnoxville]

Right now? Sure, Cignetti looks like a winner with a capital W.

But as I've said in previous threads, he landed at the perfect place at the perfect time. He may well win a NC this year and that doesn't mean he could have done so at Bama or will be able to do so going forward.

Catching lighting in a bottle will be more common in the modern 'buy a team' world we live in now. Sustaining it (or doing so at an established power where signing a team of aging 3* players won't work) may well prove impossible.

Yeah, I realize that a lot of things came together in the right place at the right time, and that this is unlikely to be the norm for Indiana going forward. He'll continue to succeed, but probably not at quite this level.

But at the same time, I also think that Cignetti is the type of coach to bring out the best in his players. With an Alabama-caliber roster, he could be unstoppable.

 

[SeventhHeavenRanch7777@gm]

Good ambitious players will want to play for a Coach who can develop them and continue to instill in them discipline

 

[crimsonaudio]

But at the same time, I also think that Cignetti is the type of coach to bring out the best in his players. With an Alabama-caliber roster, he could be unstoppable.

Good ambitious players will want to play for a Coach who can develop them and continue to instill in them discipline

I guess time will tell. I have a hard time believing Cignetti has magically cracked the code after a few short years as HC that even Saban couldn't after decades as a premier HC.

 

[M Squires]

I guess time will tell. I have a hard time believing Cignetti has magically cracked the code after a few short years as HC that even Saban couldn't after decades as a premier HC.

Cignetti has been a HC for 15 years. He cracked the code in whatever level he was in right from the get-go.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Cignetti has been a HC for 15 years. He cracked the code in whatever level he was in right from the get-go.

And has a lower overall winning percentage as HC than Saban.

But somehow he's cracked the code at the highest level of CFB?

I'll wait and see. Happy to eat crow if he keeps churning it out, but winning at IUP and JMU is nothing like consistently winning at the highest level of FBS.

 

[M Squires]

And has a lower overall winning percentage as HC than Saban.

But somehow he's cracked the code at the highest level of CFB?

I'll wait and see. Happy to eat crow if he keeps churning it out, but winning at IUP and JMU is nothing like consistently winning at the highest level of FBS.

Saban’s 80.44% compared to Cignetti’s 79.67% is pretty close.

He doesn’t have to be Nick Saban to also be extraordinary.