Curt Cignetti Staff Profiles: Quarterbacks Coach Tino Sunseri

Written by T.J. Inman

New Indiana University head football coach Curt Cignetti’s staff is taking shape. He brought offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan with him and rising star quarterback coach Tino Sunseri is now coming as well. One of the biggest reasons for the success of Curt Cignetti’s teams has been the ability to get the most out of each quarterback that sees the field. Four of the five starting quarterbacks for Cignetti at James Madison earned Conference Player of the Year honors while the fifth was named Offensive Player of the Year in the conference. Part of that success has been due to the coaching of quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri. 

Sunseri has been with James Madison for the past three seasons and helped lead prolific offenses each season. He arrived in Harrisonburg after two and a half seasons with Alabama as an offensive analyst that worked alongside Steve Sarkisian, focusing on quarterbacks and wide receivers. The quarterbacks he worked with included Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones. Cignetti had also worked with Alabama and is good friends with head coach Nick Saban and continued to study the Crimson Tide program from afar. He was impressed with the Alabama passing game and wide receiver play. Saban and Sarkisian presumably put in a good word for Sunseri and he was hired by Cignetti prior to the 2021 season. 

Sunseri was also coached by Curt’s brother Frank Cignetti Jr. at the University of Pittsburgh where he was the starting quarterback on a Big East Championship team in 2010. Sunseri played for three years in the Canadian Football League before moving into coaching. He is considered a rising star in the industry. 

Hoosier Huddle will continue to cover the beginnings of the Curt Cignetti era.