Curt Cignetti Staff Profiles: Special Teams Coordinator/TE Coach Grant Cain

Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

New Indiana University head football coach Curt Cignetti’s staff has taken shape. Much of Cignetti’s philosophy has been to bring with him the coaching staff he worked with at James Madison, and that will be true once again today as we highlight Grant Cain.

Cain joined James Madison before Cignetti’s first season with the Dukes back in 2019. Cain served in the same position, though he was promoted to assistant head coach as well before the 2022 season when JMU jumped up to the FBS level. In his first season at JMU, Cain began the molding of the special-teams corps into a national power. The Dukes led the country in blocked kicks (9) while ranking sixth in kickoff-return average (24.16) and field goals per game (1.69). Prior to JMU’s jump to the FBS, Cain’s special teams units ranked as some of the nation’s best year in and year out, highlighted by the NCAA’s all-time leading kicker, Ethan Ratke. During the 2021 campaign, Ratke set the NCAA all-divisions record for career field goals (101) and scoring by a kicker (542) while finishing second amongst all FCS players and 13th by any player from any division in career scoring.

Prior to James Madison, Cain spent six seasons with Mercer where he coached special teams and inside linebackers. He was promoted to an assistant head coaching role at the end of his Mercer tenure as well.

Before his time at Mercer, Cain spent seven years with Coastal Carolina; he started as a graduate assistant, spending time coaching and earning his degree in instructional technology, before eventually being promoted to assistant coach and leading the outside linebackers.

Cain is a 2003 graduate of Catawba where he earned a degree in business administration. He is married to the former Shauna Koontz and has two sons: Caleb and Samuel.

Indiana struggled at times on special teams, so Cain’s leadership should help greatly. He has also already done work on the recruiting trail, affirming the commitment of Brody Kosin, a 6’6 225 pound 3-star tight end recruit from Michigan.

Hoosier Huddle will continue to cover the beginning of the Curt Cignetti era and keep you informed of any developments.