New JMU Coach Cignetti: 'We Have The Blueprint'

“There’s no doubt that we have the blueprint that’s proven to be successful at the highest level,” new James Madison coach Curt Cignetti told the Daily News-Record on Saturday. “So it’s all going to start with buy-in and working every day to improve.

“I’m very process-oriented, so I’m not going to talk a lot about winning national championships. And if I do, I’m going to be kicking myself in the butt after I say it because the best way to get there is to commit to the things that are going to make you the most successful.”

Cignetti, who signed a six-year, $425,000 per year deal to coach Madison on Friday, takes the reins with the Dukes having reached the postseason in each of the past five years, the national championship game in two of the last three seasons and winning the title in 2016 to become one of the elite programs in FCS.

He said he understands the expectations at JMU remain high and will lean on his experience of more than 30 years in coaching to help himself and his players succeed.

Cignetti was the recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach for four seasons under Nick Saban at Alabama and helped the Crimson Tide win their first national title of the Saban era in 2009. As head coach, Cignetti put IUP in the Division II playoffs three times over six season and took Elon to the FCS postseason in each of his two years leading the Phoenix.

Had Elon not lost starting quarterback Davis Cheek and running back Malcolm Summers to season-ending injuries this fall, the Phoenix might still be playing. Elon was undefeated against FCS competition under Cignetti when Cheek and Summers were both healthy.

“I’ve got a track record,” Cignetti said. “I’ve been doing this a while, but I feel young, so I guess that’s maybe what attracted the leadership at JMU toward me.

“But let’s face it, the challenge is the challenge, and the team last year lost four games, so there are improvements that need made and everyone has to understand that.”

Cignetti’s Elon squad handed JMU its only home loss in three years under former coach Mike Houston, who left the Dukes for the same job at East Carolina on Dec. 3.

The 27-24 win in October for Elon snapped a 20-game Colonial Athletic Association winning streak for JMU. The Dukes finished 9-4 with a loss in the second round of the FCS playoffs at Colgate on Dec. 1.

“They lost four games,” Cignetti said. “So I’m not saying that it can’t happen, but I don’t think that’s anyone’s expectation level.

“From a material or talent standpoint, you’re as good or better than anyone you’re going to play and you come up short four times. You get a mulligan against N.C. State and [JMU] played extremely well and could’ve won the game, so it’s three, but why does that happen?

“I’ve got my opinion without having been here, but that’s in the past and we’re not so much worried about that as we are about where we’re going to go. But I think it’s very important that everyone understands early on that we need to get better and we need to be humble and hungry in our attitude and our approach to our work.”

Cignetti said his philosophies align with Houston’s, but there likely will be differences in how he goes about doing things.

Something that won’t change is the style of defense, according to Cignetti, who deployed a 3-3-5 stack at Elon. He said he is planning to use a four-man front at JMU like Houston and former Dukes defensive coordinator Bob Trott did over the past three years.

“But what it ends up looking like, because there’s a lot of different four-down defenses, is going to be contingent upon who I hire,” Cignetti said, “and right now I’m in the process of researching and fielding a lot of calls.

“I don’t really feel a rush. One thing I did last time I put a staff together is I took my time and I’m going to take my time on this one because there’s no re-dos.”

Cignetti said he does have five assistants, a strength coach and a director of football operations in place for the Dukes, but couldn’t reveal who they are because paperwork hasn’t been finalized yet.

The main priority for Cignetti in his first week as coach at Madison is to secure the 2019 recruiting class with the early signing date on Wednesday and the dead period beginning on Monday.

“The process is accelerated,” Cignetti said. “But when Mike left JMU we were in every one of the commits' schools, establishing a relationship, and so with those relationships having been established now it’s just a matter of reintroducing ourselves as part of JMU nation.”

He said he’s thrilled to get started and will be introduced as the new head coach Monday at noon inside the Bridgeforth Stadium Club.

“In the back of my mind I kind of figured if the [JMU] job opened, that a phone call could possibly be coming,” Cignetti said. “Intuitively, I just sort of had that feel. There were other calls and opportunities, but I’m pretty selective and conservative in what I do.

“But I think it’s a winner. I think you can win a national championship there. They have won national championships. It’s the best FCS job east of the Mississippi and one of the top two or three in the country. And so to me, it’s an exciting opportunity.”