IU Football Coaches Have Seen Struggle Year One- Can Cignetti Be Different?

When Curt Cignetti took over for the Hoosiers, hopes were high. Don’t ask me, just Google him. I wrote about those realistic expectations here. It’s not easy taking over a program. Typically, unless a coach retires, the new coach is taking over a struggling team. There is a reason, after all, why they previous coach is no longer there. In the case of IU this past year, Tom Allen was removed after a 3-9 overall record and 1-8 Big 10 record. Simple underachievement and poor coaching. Typically, with the removal of a coach, incoming recruits pull their committment and look at other schools. They did not commit to the incoming coach.

So, historically, how have previous IU coaches done in their first season?

Bo McMillan, IU’s greatest coach went 3-3-2 in his first season. Not surprising he did well, he actually had a winning record at IU, going 63-48-11 and came out even in Big 10 play: 34-34-6. Impressive stats for a team that reached 700 losses faster than any other program.

John Pont-        1965, 2-8 overall, 1-6 in Big 10

Lee Corso-         1973, 2-9 overall,  0-8 in Big 10

Sam Wyche-      1983, 3-8 overall, 2-7 in Big 10

Bill Mallory-      1984, 0-11 overall, 0-9 in Big 10

Cam Cameron- 1997, 2-9 overall, 1-7 in Big 10

Gerry DiNardo, 2002, 3-9 overall, 1-7 in Big 10

Terry Hoepner- 2005, 4-7 overall, 1-7 in Big 10

Bill Lynch-          2007, 7-6 overall, 3-5 in Big 10

Kevin Wilson-    2011, 1-11 overall, 0-8 in Big 10

Tom Allen-         2017, 5-7 ovearll, 2-7 in Big 10

Since 1965, ten coaches have gone 29-85, 34% win percentage.  It’s even worse in Big 10 play.  Coaches have gone 11-71 in their first year. Of course, the expectation is not to win in year one. Coaches need time to build a team and put “their” players in place. So, when Coach Cignetti says that IU will win in year one, should we believe him? Is it all bluster to galvanize the fan base?

It is safe to put some stock in his comments because the landscape of college football is much different now. Tom Allen was fortunate that he was on the staff when he took over so he was able to keep players who otherwise would have left. Typically, though, when a coach takes over, recruits opt out of their committment and the team is subpar.

Now, with the transfer portal, Cignetti was able to build his roster with 22 players from the portal, including a few he pulled out of the portal from IU. Many of those players he knew from James Madison so they are already ahead of schedule in terms of knowing what to expect. He also brought his entire coach staff, save offensive line coach, who he retained from the IU staff. Bob Bostad, coincidentally, may have been IU’s best position coach. In terms of missed blocking assignments, IU was near the best in all of college football.

Suffice to say, winning at IU is a big challenge. Winning in the Big 10 is nearly insurmountable. Winning in year one, according to history, is a serious uphill climb. That said, if it can be done, this is the year. Prediction 8-4