Coach Cignetti Describes How He Prepares for Weekly Success

Written By: Nick Gonzales (@nrgonzales_)

It’s no question that Curt Cignetti is having a historic first year coaching the Indiana Hoosiers, but not many would’ve expected Cig to achieve this much success so early on. Cignetti has been known to win throughout his career as a head coach which is precisely why Indiana brought him over from JMU. Over his 13 seasons as a head coach before the start of the 2024 season, Cignetti’s record was 119-35 (now 127-35) with a 29-9 record in his first seasons with his previous three teams (Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Elon, and James Madison).

Many people had their doubts about how Cignetti’s success would transfer in the Big Ten and if IU could become more than just a “basketball school.” But, when you hear about his weekly schedule of preparing against opponents, you’ll realize how dedicated he is to turning Indiana’s football program around. In Monday’s press conference, Cignetti provided some insight into a typical weekly schedule.

“Yeah, well, Sunday you come in, you review your game. I come in early. Like this morning I was in (at) 4:30. Sunday I watch offense, defense, kicking before the coaches come in. Quick staff. I'll watch the offense with the offense. I may cut out a few plays and watch them with the defense, but sometimes I don't. We watch special teams together. We're on to the opponent.

We normally start with explosive plays, runs plus 12, passes plus 15. We'll watch three, four, five games together as a staff, then break up on our own. I'll spend an hour or two on various things tape-wise.”

Coach Cignetti is very meticulous when it comes to his schedule. He wants the week to run as smoothly as possible. He has a lot of confidence when it comes to his team and ensures that every player stays focused on practice instead of thinking too much about the upcoming game. Coach Cig wants all his players on the same page.

While keeping his players in line and making sure they don’t become complacent is a very important factor of his job, the part that takes the most time out of his day is researching the opponent and finding weaknesses in his own team. Earlier this season, Cignetti estimated that he spends about 80 hours a week watching film! That number seems absurd when you initially think about it. However, when you watch how badly Indiana has defeated their opponents this season, it validates his extensive time commitment. Sometimes it appears as if Cignetti knows the opposing team better than their head coach does. It's apparent that his preparations have paid off tremendously.

“This morning, I came in, there were some things I wanted to rewatch of their defense, then watch their last two games on offense. I've seen 'em on offense a little bit through some of our exchanges.” Cignetti states about how he spent his Monday morning preparing for Michigan State.

He is working around the clock and the Hoosiers are reaping the benefits of his hard work. Cignetti also strives to make a schedule that isn’t too complicated or tough on his student athletes. Their whole lives don’t revolve just around college football, and he makes sure that they are still having the same success in the classroom as they are on the field.

“Today is a normal down distance day. Walk-through tonight. Offensively we went back through a few things, then started on the formations. Tomorrow is normal down distance, too. Two days of that. Wednesday is third down. I'll preview that beforehand. Thursday is red area, two-point play, two-minute goal line. That's kind of how it's done,” Cignetti expressed in Monday’s press conference on how he runs things when it comes to practice.

When it comes to gameday, Coach Cig makes it so that he is prepared for anything and will do whatever is needed to win. With a road game at East Lansing to face off against Michigan State, he is doing as much in his power to get the Hoosiers ready to face the Spartans this Saturday.