"Long before Cignetti led Indiana to its first perfect regular season and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, he built a winner while honing a blueprint for success at his first head coaching job -- Division II IUP. Cignetti had spent nearly three decades as an assistant, including four seasons (2007-10) under Nick Saban at Alabama, before he got the opportunity to run his own program."
"Cignetti didn't just inherit the program; he rebuilt it, applying the standards he'd learned in Tuscaloosa and elsewhere in his own way. "I remember thinking, either this dude is crazy and it's not going to work, or it's going to work really well," former IUP captain and All-America offensive tackle Byron Dovales said. "He was hard on us. But we won fast. From then on, I was like, whatever this dude says, I'm in.""
Curt Cignetti spent nearly three decades as an assistant, including four seasons under Nick Saban at Alabama, before taking the head coaching job at Division II IUP at age 49. He rebuilt the program rather than simply inheriting it, applying standards learned in Tuscaloosa and elsewhere. Recruits responded to tangible signs of success such as Cignetti's Alabama national championship ring. Players described him as demanding but effective, with quick wins fostering trust and buy-in. His father, Frank Cignetti Sr., previously built IUP into a Division II power. Cignetti later led Indiana to its first perfect regular season and the No. 1 College Football Playoff seed.
Read at ESPN.com
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