BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Curt Cignetti is wasting little time in building his coaching staff at his new digs.
Matt Zenitz first reported on Friday morning that Cignetti was planning to bring his current offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri from James Madison to his new staff at Indiana. A source later confirmed the report to TheHoosier.com.
"They are all really, really good at their jobs," a source told TheHoosier.com. "They will probably all be head coaches someday."'
Get to know each of the coach's profiles below:
Mike Shanahan, OC
Of the same namesake but of no relation to the longtime NFL head coach, Shanahan has been with the Dukes program since December of 2018. As an assistant, his career began primarily overseeing the JMU wideouts, but he was elevated to offensive coordinator ahead of the 2021 season – a role he's held since. He also previously served as recruiting coordinator on staff in Harrisonburg.
Paired with an offensive mind the likes of Cignetti's, the Dukes offense has been humming under he and Shanahan's direction. In 2022, the first season at the FBS level for JMU, the Dukes' attack ranked in the top 30 in six different categories. The success has come primarily through the air, as in 2023, James Madison had a predicted points added of .518 on each passing play. That mark ranked 11th among all FBS passing offenses in 2023.
Over the past three seasons, Shanahan's offenses have been steered by three tremendous quarterbacks. Jordan McCloud was named the 2023 Sun Belt Player of the Year and an obvious First-team All-Sun Belt selection. The year prior, QB Todd Centeio earned SBC Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors. Before that, in the final year of FCS play for the Dukes, All-American QB Cole Johnson was named the CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year.
All of the above mentioned quarterbacks flourished under Shanahan's watch. The offense has been high-powered and aerial-oriented. Aside from prolific quarterbacks, various receiving threats have emerged to be all-league worthy under his tutelage.
As a duo, the duo of Cignetti and Shanahan have worked together since 2016 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. They've joined each other with stops at IUP, Elon, JMU and now, the Hoosier program.
That's not only impressive cohesion, but it also shows a continual philosophy of thinking and a stability in being able to recruit top talent that produces at each level. As a package deal, Shanahan is a valuable addition to the IU program.
Bryant Haines, DC
Haines is another Cignetti-led staff stalwart, having worked together with the new Hoosier head coach on IUP's staff, at Elon and, most recently, at JMU. In Haines' time at JMU, the Dukes' defense ranked top 10 nationally on both sides of the FCS --> FBS transition for total defense. In the most recent season, the Haines-led Dukes defense was the No. 1 defense against the run, allowing just 61.5 yards per game and just 2.1 yards per carry.
He's fulfilled the role of defensive coordinator and linebackers coach since the beginning of the 2022 campaign, a promotion from his spot as co-defensive coordinator prior in his tenure.
A former linebacker at Ball State, Haines was one of the great defenders across college football during his time in Muncie.
As a whole, the Dukes' defense ranked top-30 in total defense this past season, allowing just 328 yards of offense a night. In terms of total scoring, the Dukes' defense was top-20 – surrendering just 18.5 points a game en route to an 11-1 regular season that, if not for an NCAA rule, would have them playing for a Sun Belt championship game this upcoming weekend.
James Madison had the conference's Defensive Player of the Year for the Sun Belt in 2023, defensive lineman Jalen Green, who lead the nation with a Sun Belt record 15.5 sacks. Overall, the Dukes had two First-Team All-Conference selections and three Second-Team nods.
The Hoosiers will hope to replicate the success in Bloomington as well.
Tino Sunseri, QBs
Serving as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the Dukes, many of the successes attributed to Shanahan can also be pointed toward Sunseri.
Sunseri, a former Pitt quarterback, spent time on the staffs of Jimbo Fisher at Florida State, a season with Tennessee in 2018, and two seasons on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama before arriving to Harrisonburg, where he's lead what can only be described as one of the most prolific offenses in college football – regardless of level of competiton.
Similar to the fashion that Cignetti-led teams have won everywhere he's been, Sunseri's designed passing attacks have enjoyed the same successes. A reminder, the aforementioned three previous quarterbacks have all won Conference Player or Offensive Player of the Year awards at the forefront of the Dukes' offense, and four of the last five.
This is a seriously threatening offense that Sunseri helps master. Indiana will benefit tremendously from his addition.
Derek Owings and Nate Adams, Strength and Conditioning
Derek Owings and Nate Adams are reported to be joining Curt Cignetti's staff at Indiana, coming from James Madison to head the strength and conditioning program for the Hoosiers.
Owings served as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for James Madison from 2020-2023. Prior to joining the Dukes, Owings worked on the staff at Texas Tech and Central Florida. Before that, he was a graduate assistant at Utah State and interned with the Michigan football program.
Adams spent last season as the Associate Director for James Madison's football weight program. Alongside of Owings, Adams is expected to lead Indiana football's strength and conditioning program.
*More staffers have been reported to have interest or could be taking positions on Cignetti's staff. This story will be updated.*
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