{"id":433189,"date":"2026-01-27T18:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/433189\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T18:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:02:13","slug":"what-college-football-coaches-say-theyve-learned-from-indianas-championship-turnaround","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/433189\/","title":{"rendered":"What college football coaches say they\u2019ve learned from Indiana\u2019s championship turnaround"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Seth Emerson, Bruce Feldman, Ralph D. Russo and David Ubben<\/p>\n

When Curt Cignetti took the Indiana job a couple of years ago, staff members at another power-conference school looked at the James Madison roster to see if they should pillage Cignetti\u2019s now-former team. An assistant coach on that staff said they decided not to pursue any of Cignetti\u2019s players.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re like, ah, he\u2019s not big enough, he\u2019s not tall enough, he\u2019s not this, he\u2019s not that,\u201d the assistant said. \u201cThen they went with him to Indiana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Telling the story two years later, with the benefit of history, the coach shook his head and smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike he said: \u2018Google me,\u2019\u201d the coach said.<\/p>\n

Indiana\u2019s national championship, after being the losingest program at the power-conference level, has been a paradigm shift in the sport. And Cignetti\u2019s coaching peers are as awed by it as anybody.<\/p>\n

The Athletic reached out to other FBS coaches to ask whether and how Indiana\u2019s championship has changed their thinking. The coaches, including power-conference head coaches and assistants, and Group of 6 head coaches, were given anonymity in order to be candid.<\/p>\n

Coaches universally respected Indiana and Cignetti and saw it as no fluke.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s changed the game,\u201d said a Group of 6 head coach. \u201cIt\u2019s not Michigan. It\u2019s not Ohio State. \u2026 It\u2019s super inspiring. If you can do it at Indiana, you can do it anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the conversations with coaches, some themes emerged on how Indiana\u2019s championship happened and what it means for the sport.<\/p>\n

Age isn\u2019t just a number<\/p>\n

When one power-conference head coach was asked his thoughts on Indiana, he replied with a screenshot of this post:<\/p>\n

Experience matters! Starting lineups of the last three College Football Playoff National Champions, all from the Big Ten.<\/p>\n

2025 Indiana
0 freshmen
3 second-years
2 third-years
10 fourth-years
4 fifth-years
4 sixth-years <\/p>\n

2024 Ohio State
1 freshman (Jeremiah Smith)
3\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Stan Becton (@stan_becton) January 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The head coach then added his own analysis: The common denominator among the last three champions \u2014 Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana \u2014 was all had very experienced, talented quarterbacks and \u201cvery old\u201d rosters.<\/p>\n

So what Indiana pulled off didn\u2019t change this coach\u2019s thinking. It just reinforced it.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurt is a damn good coach. His teams don\u2019t beat themselves. He wins close games. Combine that with an elite QB and smattering of transfers \u2014 lethal combination in my opinion. You can\u2019t really make changes to get to that,\u201d the head coach said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is already trying to get older and more experienced and everyone is trying to get the best QB \u2014 Indiana just did it better.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how did Indiana do it better? Another power-conference head coach pointed to the Hoosiers combining good evaluations and development with resources \u2014 money \u2014 to keep those older players.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Indiana) had an older team, but you can\u2019t just go out and get a bunch of senior mercenaries, sign them up and let\u2019s try to go out with the oldest team we can. That doesn\u2019t win football games,\u201d this head coach said. \u201cBut they also got money. The lesson to be learned is you can get better players if you get more money. And keep them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, before you keep good players, you have to get them. Indiana had money, but it didn\u2019t outspend everyone, and definitely not when Cignetti first arrived two years ago. Therein lies another lesson.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t chase stars<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that when Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State were winning national titles, they were also annually near the top of the high school recruiting rankings. When Michigan won two years ago, it had 13 players picked in the next NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

Indiana, of course, was not a recruiting behemoth. But Cignetti brought in players he knew from James Madison, plus other transfers and high school players he and his staff identified as good fits.<\/p>\n

As one of the power-conference head coaches put it: \u201cI\u2019m looking for guys that love football. And that\u2019s what Indiana\u2019s got. They love the team aspect. Especially with this NIL and rev share stuff going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Wide receiver Elijah Sarratt was one of the success stories who came over with Curt Cignetti from James Madison. (Carmen Mandato \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say the Alabamas, Georgias and Ohio States were just living off the blue-chip ratings. They also identified which blue chips were the best fits and developed a decent number of three-star players. Cignetti, who coached under Nick Saban at Alabama from 2009 to 2012, knew something about evaluating high school recruits.<\/p>\n

In the transfer portal, recruiting is about looking at production at a player\u2019s previous school, even if it\u2019s a lower level. And looking at player intangibles, rather than just pure skill.<\/p>\n

One head coach at the Group of 6 level thought Cignetti might have benefited from not feeling pressure to pull in a top-ranked recruiting class.<\/p>\n

\u201cCignetti wasn\u2019t worried about riding the up-and-down of the recruiting cycle, where sometimes you\u2019ve gotta deal with the fan base,\u201d the coach said. \u201cSocial media gets really loud if you\u2019re not getting four- and five-star ranked guys. I don\u2019t know if pressure is the right word, but sometimes people feel they have to try and create that momentum or ride that momentum. He wasn\u2019t concerned about that at all. I don\u2019t think he dealt with that, worrying about what guys might be ranked. He just ignored it. They just trusted their evaluations. That\u2019s a learning point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evaluation was also a key point made by a power-conference assistant, especially on the portal. This coach also spent time in the NFL, and said that experience \u2014 when he was evaluating college players for the draft \u2014 has become a useful skill for college coaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than anything, what makes a good head football coach looks really different than it did 10 years ago,\u201d this coach said. \u201cIt used to be that you needed to be a great high school evaluator, relationship builder, and good ol\u2019 boy with donors. Now, you better be really good at evaluating college tape and knowing how to price it, all while building relationships with players to help them not leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fundamentals still matter<\/p>\n

One of the power-conference head coaches marveled at Indiana\u2019s turnover margin going into the national title game:<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re plus-21 going into the championship game,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t care if you\u2019re Indiana (or) Bucknell. If you\u2019re plus-21, you\u2019re going to win a lot of games. Just the discipline they have with the ball. (Fernando) Mendoza obviously got coached up pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t just Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who is likely to be the No. 1 pick in April\u2019s NFL Draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of the power-conference assistants said he has coached against teams with overwhelming talent, for which they had no answers. In Indiana\u2019s case, the frustration was more technical. The Hoosiers just never messed up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re never in the wrong gap. They always seem like they\u2019re in the right spot,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it really puts coaching in perspective. Get the right guys you can coach who will buy into what you want them to do, and let them play.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the takeaway for many coaches: Fundamentals are more important now because of how pieced-together teams are. And Indiana jumped out for its fundamentals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatch their O-line\u2019s footwork. Watch how their D-line uses their hands and sheds blocks,\u201d said one of the Group of 6 head coaches. \u201cIt\u2019s the little things.\u201d<\/p>\n

This coach pointed to one little thing in the national championship game: an outside zone run when the receiver, assigned to come inside to block a safety, first pretended he was running a route to keep the cornerback from defending the run. The Miami safety ran hard at the play, and this coach said \u201cnine times out of 10\u201d the receiver would just run right, leaving the cornerback to tackle the runner. But the Indiana receiver kept selling the route, keeping the cornerback at bay, then blocked the safety, and the result was a big play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s those little nuances that show up,\u201d the coach said. \u201cI don\u2019t think they\u2019re doing anything schematically that is cutting-edge, but they\u2019re really sound in all they do and they\u2019re fundamentally as well coached as anybody in the country, and they\u2019re consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another power-conference head coach said Indiana\u2019s success ultimately confirmed for him that it\u2019s still a fundamental game. But he tied that back into the importance of experience:<\/p>\n

\u201cWith people and players moving around at a greater clip, the lack of consistency at programs and not being able to train a team like you used to (i.e., two-a-days), when you have a more old-school approach like what Cignetti has done, I think it beats (talent) margins,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that\u2019s what they\u2019re a testament to.\u201d<\/p>\n

And not just experience, but experience with the system, even if it was at another school. A Group of 6 head coach with power-conference experience\u00a0pointed to the players that Cignetti brought with him from James Madison.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say that culture probably played a bigger part than some people realize,\u201d the coach said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re dealing with a significant roster turnover on a yearly basis, there\u2019s something to be said for a large number of guys sitting in a team room who have heard the message before and understand the methodology and the process that it takes in coach Cignetti\u2019s vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Curt Cignetti\u2019s teams have finished with winning records in all 15 seasons he has worked as a head coach. (Jamie Squire \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The guy can coach<\/p>\n

One power-conference head coach had a simple takeaway of Indiana\u2019s success: As talent spreads more around college football, creating more parity \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cCoaching still matters,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you look at them, they\u2019re one of the finest coached teams of the last decade. That team (Miami) was obviously a more talented team than Indiana. He found a way to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the Group of 6 head coaches noted how Cignetti led his team \u2014 both in games and in practice. Indiana doesn\u2019t practice long \u2014 about 90 minutes \u2014 to protect its best players from injury and be more efficient.<\/p>\n

\u201cCignetti has taken a different approach than Saban or Les Miles or other guys. He\u2019s been a less-is-more guy,\u201d the coach said. \u201cIt\u2019s more of an NFL approach. He\u2019s very detailed.\u201d<\/p>\n

During games, Cignetti\u2019s sideline demeanor and expressions have become memes. But this coach saw it as the 64-year-old Cignetti being in charge and managing the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe never gets emotional. He doesn\u2019t make emotional decisions,\u201d the coach said. \u201cEverything is calculated. The coaches coach during the game more so than any game I\u2019ve watched.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was an important point for this coach, watching Indiana\u2019s sideline during games: Always be doing something, or get out of the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re on defense and the offense is out there, you\u2019re not watching it. You\u2019re coaching,\u201d the coach said. \u201cI saw that from afar. That\u2019s the biggest thing that stood out. The coaches are coaching during the game and he\u2019s very, very adamant about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big picture<\/p>\n

For years, programs were trying to replicate Saban, sometimes with success (see: Kirby Smart at Georgia) but often not. Cignetti was a former Saban assistant, but a long time ago, and was known more for his head-coaching success at smaller schools, like Indiana University of Pennsylvania at the Division II level.<\/p>\n

Will this lead to programs looking for the next Cignetti? One power-conference assistant theorized it should, because small-school coaches who win have done it on a more even financial playing field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think hiring coaches who have proven success in FCS football (for the next couple years) will have meaningful carryover because they\u2019ve operated on a budget in recruiting (similar to NIL) and that will help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

One power-conference head coach, asked how this changed how he saw college football, said it will only hasten the timeline in which coaches are expected to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, the component of patience and development is being strained by a lot of us. Can you wait?\u201d the head coach said. \u201cI had a Big Ten coach tell me it\u2019s basically 18 months for skill players and 24-plus for linemen to develop. You\u2019ve gotta be able to move your roster along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another power-conference head coach pointed to the preseason polls being so off in both directions as a sign the sport is more unpredictable: You can be Indiana in 2025 \u2014 or Florida State in 2024. The Seminoles, No. 10 in the preseason, went 2-10.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one knows what anyone is. Which is cool for a sport but for coaches, players and a program perspective, it\u2019s interesting,\u201d the head coach said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone will now ask the question, why not us? But that\u2019s the wrong question. It has to be, are you willing to pay the price and do what it takes the get there? The teams that can do it. Everybody thinks they have a chance. But that\u2019s not the reality. Because there\u2019s a factor of what you\u2019re willing to do and do you know what to do to get yourself there.\u201d<\/p>\n