Curt Cignetti

Just wanted to highlight how great of a coach this guy has become since he left us in 2010. He's too old (IMO) to replace Saban, but he has turned around every program he's taken over and currently has James Madison undefeated.

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IUP

IUP had a 4–10 conference record prior to Cignetti's arrival in 2011. In his first year as head coach, the team won 6 of its last 7 games, by an average of 28 points per game, to finish 7–3. In 2012, The Crimson Hawks won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals, finishing 12–2. Cignetti’s 2013 team finished 9–2 and he led IUP to the NCAA playoffs in both 2015 and 2016. His 2016 team finished 10–2. Cignetti finished 53–17 at IUP with three NCAA playoff appearances and two conference championships. On December 31, 2016, he accepted the head coaching position at Elon University.

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Elon

The Elon team had had a 4–20 conference record and suffered through six straight losing seasons prior to Cignetti's arrival, but in his first season the squad won eight games in a row after an opening season loss to MAC Champion Toledo. The Phoenix were ranked as high as 6th nationally, played James Madison for the conference championship and were selected for the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 2009. Cignetti was named CAA coach of the year and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year. In 2018, Cignetti led the Phoenix to a 27–24 win over James Madison, ending JMU's 22-game CAA Football winning streak and then FCS-best 19-game home winning streak. The win marked Elon's first over a top-five FCS opponent. The Phoenix earned back to back NCAA playoff appearances for the first time in program history.

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James Madison

Curt Cignetti was named Head Football Coach at James Madison on December 14, 2018. In his first season, Cignetti led the Dukes to a seven game improvement over 2018, finishing 14–2 and an appearance in the 2020 National Championship. 2021 saw the Dukes play two seasons, spring and fall while claiming two Conference Championships and appearing in two National Semifinal contests. JMU went 19-3 in '21 and announced a move to the Sun Belt Conference effective Fall '22.

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