Cignetti Completes Staff With Hall-Oliver
James Madison has a full football staff once again.
On Monday, the Dukes officially announced the hiring of Marcus Hall-Oliver as their defensive tackles coach. Earlier in the afternoon, sources told the Daily News-Record Hall-Oliver would be joining the staff.
He spent last season as a defensive graduate assistant for FBS Indiana.
“He is very knowledgeable and high energy,” JMU coach Curt Cignetti said in a statement. “He has been with successful programs, or programs that reached unprecedented success relative to their recent history.”
Hall-Oliver, stepping in for former defensive tackles coach Andrew Jackson, has a background similar to assistants Cignetti has hired before.
Jackson, now at Old Dominion, was a former Penn State graduate assistant and Mississippi State quality control coach ahead of arriving at JMU. Current running backs coach Matt Merritt was a graduate assistant at Ohio State prior to landing his first Division I full-time job with Cignetti at Elon a few seasons later. Dukes linebackers coach Bryant Haines was on the Buckeyes' staff in 2013 before Cignetti hired him at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania a year later. And even former Dukes safeties coach Ryan Smith, who left last month for Virginia Tech, was a graduate assistant with Penn State before Cignetti brought him to Elon.
Hall-Oliver has the same Big Ten experience those coaches do.
In addition, Hall-Oliver had stints as the defensive line coach at Division II University of Sioux Falls (2017-18) and as a graduate assistant for FBS Eastern Michigan (2015-16). He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Minnesota State, working as a student assistant and graduate assistant with the program.
“He has also coached in bowl games, playoffs and a national championship,” Cignetti said.
Indiana went 8-5, reaching the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl this past season and Eastern Michigan made an appearance in the Popeye’s Bahamas Bowl in 2016. University of Sioux Falls played in the Division II postseason while Hall-Oliver was on staff and Minnesota State appeared in the Division II national championship game in 2014 when he was a graduate assistant there.
Hall-Oliver and former Bridgewater College assistant Eddie Whitley, who Cignetti hired as safeties coach last week, are new to the staff while Merritt, Haines, defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery, offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski, cornerbacks coach Matt Birkett, special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Grant Cain and wide receivers coach Mike Shanahan are readying for their second year with the program.