Will the Coaching Staff be able to live up to expectations ?

[76-1]

Harsh question to ask after the sterling record and gaudy numbers put up on both sides of the ball last fall, But, given our past history of other staffs here having become the big men on campus who never had to buy a beer the prior season and their taking a big bite of the "Rat Poison" after being rewarded for their prior efforts and spiraling down to earth the next season, it's a fair and important one to ask...

Can our Staff and even Coach Cignetti find a way to get over everyone patting them on the back and refocus on the job at hand with the same drive and passion they've shown in the past...?

Handling success is often more difficult than dealing with failure... Pushing through the "success barrier" is a lot tougher than just identifying and fixing what went wrong because you have a tendency to believe that you have all the answers and to unintentionally sort of put it all on cruise control...

Should be interesting to see if this Staff can get past their accolades and monetary rewards and get refocused on "the Main Thing"...

 

[OpenWheels]

Seeing the interview from last week where Cig stressed Mendoza will have to win the starting job... And where he said he'd find out in spring practice whether Derek Owings is right that conditioning has been going great, or whether he'd learn Derek was falling into the trap after success of lowering the standards...

Yes, the staff will live up to expectations.

Led by Cig. Cig is worried about the same thing. He isn't done. In fact, he said last years' team came together very, very well, and stayed hungry every workout, and every play even when leading big. He said he doesn't know if this team will do that or not, that each team is different. Cig said losing the ND game by not playing well really hurts the guys, so in some sense is a silver lining in fighting complacency.

So yes, staff is up to it.
,

 

[Tammany Hall]

It's cheesy, but we won't really know until they play the games.

Cig's track record has many good seasons in a row. He's got his system and it should keep working pretty well.

That said, as IUFB works to establish itself as a mid-pack or top-third team in the conference, there are going to be bumps in the road. It won't just be a straight up and to the right path and it will take several years to see if we can do it. IMO, can't get too high after a season like last year or too low if we have a down year.

 

[Walt542]

I’m not sure what other staff bought into the rat poison? Can’t remember that ever happening. I am rewatching all the games from last year. I was amazed at how well that team was playing during the Nebraska game. Few college teams ever have played that well. I do think the injuries to Rourke and the OL slowed them down quite a bit, but that too happens to teams. I just cannot imagine this coaching staff biting into that rat poison.

 

[td75]

Cignetti's coaching record suggests that his eye is always on the ball. There's absolutely nothing about his record that suggests Indiana won't be very good this fall.

Looking at last year's performance and the quality of players coming back from that team, tells anyone with half a brain they will be very good.

Indiana football fans have seen too much mediocre talent AND piss poor coaching to get excited. I've cast my doubts aside, Cignetti will win plenty of games this fall.

 

[vesuvius13]

Cignetti's coaching record suggests that his eye is always on the ball. There's absolutely nothing about his record that suggests Indiana won't be very good this fall.

Looking at last year's performance and the quality of players coming back from that team, tells anyone with half a brain they will be very good.

Indiana football fans have seen too much mediocre talent AND piss poor coaching to get excited. I've cast my doubts aside, Cignetti win plenty of games this fall.

I agree about coach Cignetti's record and not expecting a big drop off this year. This staff, minus Tino, have been together for a long time, truly represents new IUFB knowing how to keep a team winning every year. Fans need to get out of the old mindset and realize this staff is different than any staff we have seen along with better support from the administration.

 

[grammy2]

The short answer is, "Hell, yes!"

 

[76-1]

I’m not sure what other staff bought into the rat poison? Can’t remember that ever happening. I am rewatching all the games from last year. I was amazed at how well that team was playing during the Nebraska game. Few college teams ever have played that well. I do think the injuries to Rourke and the OL slowed them down quite a bit, but that too happens to teams. I just cannot imagine this coaching staff biting into that rat poison.

He who should not be named and his Staff took a big bite of the rat poison back in 2021 :

IU football report card: Hoosiers lay an egg in Iowa City

Indiana suffered a disappointing 34-6 loss at Iowa on Saturday to open its 2021 season. Let’s go position-by-position and take a look at what went right and what went wrong in Iowa City. See …

www.thedailyhoosier.com

Now this Staff appears to be head and shoulders above that one but the drop off from the national recognition high is always a concern...

I really didn't like Cigs approach at the end of the season up there at ND by acting like an out of control 7th grader who didn't know when to stop trash talking and start focusing on the game at hand...

Fortunately that seemed somewhat out of character for him... Hopefully he'll have someone talk him out of it or warn him not to pull that kind of stunt in the future (his wife maybe)...

There's a time and a place for that sort of thing (like last years BB game) but, before the biggest game of the year (up at ND) isn't it (unless it's done inside the locker room when speaking only the Team)...

These guys are pros so we probably will be fine this season when it comes to this Staff but "Winning Disease" (overconfidence and stuck on cruise control), is always a concern after a season like last Fall...

 

[IUgradman]

I guess it’s possible but there is nothing in Cignetti’s track record to indicate he has ever gotten complacent. He repeatedly preaches that everything is earned not given and that average is not acceptable in his line of work.

 

[red hornet]

He who should not be named and his Staff took a big bite of the rat poison back in 2021 :

IU football report card: Hoosiers lay an egg in Iowa City

Indiana suffered a disappointing 34-6 loss at Iowa on Saturday to open its 2021 season. Let’s go position-by-position and take a look at what went right and what went wrong in Iowa City. See …

www.thedailyhoosier.com

Now this Staff appears to be head and shoulders above that one but the drop off from the national recognition high is always a concern...

I really didn't like Cigs approach at the end of the season up there at ND by acting like an out of control 7th grader who didn't know when to stop trash talking and start focusing on the game at hand...

Fortunately that seemed somewhat out of character for him... Hopefully he'll have someone talk him out of it or warn him not to pull that kind of stunt in the future (his wife maybe)...

There's a time and a place for that sort of thing (like last years BB game) but, before the biggest game of the year (up at ND) isn't it (unless it's done inside the locker room when speaking only the Team)...

These guys are pros so we probably will be fine this season when it comes to this Staff but "Winning Disease" (overconfidence and stuck on cruise control), is always a concern after a season like last Fall...

A lot of those interviews were for Indiana pub & recruiting, not for himself. He knows what he's doing. In Cignetti, we trust!

 

[76-1]

A lot of those interviews were for Indiana pub & recruiting, not for himself. He know what he's doing. In Cignetti, we trust!

The only one I had any problem with was that very last one up at Notre Dame... I'd have much preferred he'd been in the locker room with the Team vs trash talking next to Saban...

I like his overall approach though so that one glitch was probably a manifestation of pre big game jitters... Here's hoping he's learned his lesson and will be more focused going into the Big Game next season...

 

[Walt542]

He who should not be named and his Staff took a big bite of the rat poison back in 2021 :

IU football report card: Hoosiers lay an egg in Iowa City

Indiana suffered a disappointing 34-6 loss at Iowa on Saturday to open its 2021 season. Let’s go position-by-position and take a look at what went right and what went wrong in Iowa City. See …

www.thedailyhoosier.com

Now this Staff appears to be head and shoulders above that one but the drop off from the national recognition high is always a concern...

I really didn't like Cigs approach at the end of the season up there at ND by acting like an out of control 7th grader who didn't know when to stop trash talking and start focusing on the game at hand...

Fortunately that seemed somewhat out of character for him... Hopefully he'll have someone talk him out of it or warn him not to pull that kind of stunt in the future (his wife maybe)...

There's a time and a place for that sort of thing (like last years BB game) but, before the biggest game of the year (up at ND) isn't it (unless it's done inside the locker room when speaking only the Team)...

These guys are pros so we probably will be fine this season when it comes to this Staff but "Winning Disease" (overconfidence and stuck on cruise control), is always a concern after a season like last Fall...

Yeah, I guess you are right about that team. I had not thought of it that way but they did lay a big egg at Iowa.

 

[ESalum86]

Coach Cig doesn't utter a single syllable to the media by chance or mistake. He plays the media like a fiddle and has a purpose to everything he does and says.

His appearance before the ND game had zero impact on the game itself. If anyone on the team isn't ready at that point the team is screwed. Simply put, we lost to a better team that night.

Sure would have loved a crack at them with our OL and QB 100%, though!

 

[vesuvius13]

Coach Cig doesn't utter a single syllable to the media by chance or mistake. He plays the media like a fiddle and has a purpose to everything he does and says.

His appearance before the ND game had zero impact on the game itself. If anyone on the team isn't ready at that point the team is screwed. Simply put, we lost to a better team that night.

Sure would have loved a crack at them with our OL and QB 100%, though!

ESalum86, you are right about the ND game, it would have been nice to play them with Evans at guard and Rourke completely healthy.

 

[76-1]

Coach Cig doesn't utter a single syllable to the media by chance or mistake. He plays the media like a fiddle and has a purpose to everything he does and says.

His appearance before the ND game had zero impact on the game itself. If anyone on the team isn't ready at that point the team is screwed. Simply put, we lost to a better team that night.

Sure would have loved a crack at them with our OL and QB 100%, though!

I agree, his pregame antics had zero bearing on the games outcome... I, personally, just didn't like the move (specifically the timing of it)...

 

[Walt542]

Coach Cig doesn't utter a single syllable to the media by chance or mistake. He plays the media like a fiddle and has a purpose to everything he does and says.

His appearance before the ND game had zero impact on the game itself. If anyone on the team isn't ready at that point the team is screwed. Simply put, we lost to a better team that night.

Sure would have loved a crack at them with our OL and QB 100%, though!

Yes, give us those 2 guys and a neutral field and it would have been interesting.

 

[FightingIrish44]

What exactly are the expectations for 2025? Of course the goal is the playoffs and beyond, but what record will have IU fans saying that the season was a general success? I don’t think 8-4 would indicate that the staff got too full of themselves or that the staff didn’t handle the offseason well.

I wouldn’t be concerned about Cignetti and staff getting overconfident as Cignetti is going into year 15 as a head coach.

Also, just because IU tanked in 2021 after a good 2020 season doesn’t mean that the staff took some of the rat poison. I’d say that was just a sort of regression to the mean although 2-10 is admittedly really disappointing after the prior two seasons. IU could go 6-6 in 2025 and it wouldn’t necessarily mean the staff got too comfortable. Stuff happens.

 

[vesuvius13]

What exactly are the expectations for 2025? Of course the goal is the playoffs and beyond, but what record will have IU fans saying that the season was a general success? I don’t think 8-4 would indicate that the staff got too full of themselves or that the staff didn’t handle the offseason well.

I wouldn’t be concerned about Cignetti and staff getting overconfident as Cignetti is going into year 15 as a head coach.

Also, just because IU tanked in 2021 after a good 2020 season doesn’t mean that the staff took some of the rat poison. I’d say that was just a sort of regression to the mean although 2-10 is admittedly really disappointing after the prior two seasons. IU could go 6-6 in 2025 and it wouldn’t necessarily mean the staff got too comfortable. Stuff happens.

The change in portal recruiting shows coach Cignetti understands IU needed more power 4 players IE OL, Morris from UM, Hemby from MD, etc. I don't see IU taking much of a step back with this coaching staff.

 

[GR8IUFAN]

What exactly are the expectations for 2025? Of course the goal is the playoffs and beyond, but what record will have IU fans saying that the season was a general success? I don’t think 8-4 would indicate that the staff got too full of themselves or that the staff didn’t handle the offseason well.

I wouldn’t be concerned about Cignetti and staff getting overconfident as Cignetti is going into year 15 as a head coach.

Also, just because IU tanked in 2021 after a good 2020 season doesn’t mean that the staff took some of the rat poison. I’d say that was just a sort of regression to the mean although 2-10 is admittedly really disappointing after the prior two seasons. IU could go 6-6 in 2025 and it wouldn’t necessarily mean the staff got too comfortable. Stuff happens.

With the tougher schedule, they could go 9-3 or even 8-4 and still be a better team than last year.
Last season was just soo off the wall.
Cig is laying the ground work for consistent success going forward.
GoHoosiers

 

[kraft cheese+macaroni]

Chapter 53 in "Looking for negative stuff to complain about when there's no evidence of it".

 

[82hoosier]

One did not have to be a football genius to recognize what great hires Bill Mallory and Coach Hep were. Decades of experience with both sides of the ball and proven track records of success. And then they bring in Bill Lynch because he had been the assistant coach. And then they bring in Kevin Wilson, who knew nothing about defense and the only time he had been a head coach was one year coaching high school where he lost every game. And then Fred Glass walks down the hallway to offer the head coaching job to another assistant coach, who knew nothing about offense above the high school level.!!!

And now we’re back to a coach with decades of experience and success on both sides of the ball. No longer is Indiana Hoosier football being led by one-legged men in an ass-kicking contest.