Cignetti Named Coach At JMU
HARRISONBURG – Jeff Bourne likes that Curt Cignetti has been there before.
“He’s been a standing head coach,” Bourne, the James Madison athletic director, told the Daily News-Record on Friday evening. “He understands the difficult calls you have to make. He’s been in the chair and it’s hard to replace that experience.”
Earlier Friday, the Dukes named Cignetti the eighth coach in their program’s history. Cignetti signed a six-year, $425,000 per year deal with Madison, according to school officials.
Cignetti, 57, held the same job at fellow Colonial Athletic Association member Elon for the last two seasons and was the coach at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania for the six years before that.
“I respect and understand the tradition of James Madison football,” Cignetti said in a press release, “and the great things that have gone on here in its growth and development. We’re going to have high goals and expectations and a blueprint to become the best we can be. There will be no self-imposed limitations on what we can accomplish.”
As a head coach, Cignetti is 67-26. He led IUP to three Division II playoff appearances and Elon to consecutive FCS playoff berths in his two seasons at the school.
Also in his time with Elon, he gave JMU its only home loss in three years under former coach Mike Houston when the Phoenix topped the Dukes 27-24 in October.
“It’s tough to take a coach from one of your fellow league schools,” Bourne said. “That part of it is something you obviously would prefer not to do, but in the world of sport, coaches are willing to move and look at opportunities and we have to be able to move with that.
“He really did a fantastic job with regard to his interview, watching his track record with how well he did this year even with having lost his quarterback and running back, who were just standout players, and we became very familiar with him when we had a chance to play him this year. He’s a very talented, right and knowledgeable coach that relates well to kids and we’re excited to get him.”
Elon got the game-winning touchdown with 1:17 to play to beat JMU at Bridgeforth Stadium to snap the Dukes' 22-game win streak against CAA foes.
Cignetti, a former West Virginia University quarterback, had stops as an assistant at Alabama, N.C. State, Pittsburgh, Temple, Rice and Davidson before his first head-coaching job at IUP.
He worked as recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach for Nick Saban at Alabama where he recruited running back Mark Ingram, who won the 2009 Heisman Trophy. Cignetti also coached wide receiver Julio Jones — a five-time NFL pro-bowler — there. Bourne said he didn’t call Saban for a reference on Cignetti, but did speak with others at Alabama who knew the new Dukes coach.
“His experience at Alabama and what he learned from Coach Saban was very rich indeed and that certainly resonated well with us,” Bourne said.
Cignetti, the son of Hall of Fame coach Frank Cignetti Sr., will be introduced as the new head coach on Monday at noon at the Bridgeforth Stadium Club.
Curt Cignetti replaces Houston, who was named coach at East Carolina on Dec. 3 following a 37-6 run with the Dukes that included a 2016 FCS national championship and a return trip to last season's national title game, which the Dukes lost to North Dakota State.
Houston was making $515,311 — a base salary of $390,311 and an additional $125,000 per year of privately funded pay raised by a group of “anonymous” donors — annually as coach of the Dukes after signing a 10-year contract extension last year. Houston had a $750,000 buyout that sources said JMU would receive in full after Houston inked a five-year contract with ECU.
Cignetti has a $1.5 million buyout if he leaves JMU within the next three years for a Power Five school, according to JMU. If he departs the Dukes for a school in the American Athletic Conference or Mountain West within three years, the buyout is $1 million, and if he leaves for a Conference USA, Sun Belt or Mid-American Conference school within three years, the buyout is $750,000. In years four and five, the buyouts drop to $1 million for Power Five, $750,000 for AAC or MWC, and $500,000 for C-USA, SBC or MAC. In year six, the buyout falls to $250,000 if he were to depart for any school regardless of conference.
Houston took eight of his 10 JMU assistant coaches with him in addition to strength coach John Williams and director of football operations Dale Steele, opening the door for Cignetti to hire his own assistants.
Bourne said it would be Cignetti’s decision to either keep or let go either Dukes linebackers coach Warren Belin or cornerbacks Corico Wright. Both Belin and Wright were hired by Houston but stayed at JMU to lead recruiting efforts after Houston left.
“I don’t know that,” Bourne said. “That would be up to Coach Cignetti and what he wants to do.”