News broke on Thursday morning JMU head coach Curt Cignetti was finalizing a deal to take over at Indiana. And he’s reportedly taking multiple assistants with him. That includes offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, who both would’ve been strong candidates to become the Dukes’ new head coach.
Cignetti has certainly led JMU to a great deal of success in its first two years as an FBS program. The Dukes are 19-4 since moving up in 2022, and are 11-1 in 2023 while being ranked No. 24 in the AP Top 25 after the final week of the regular season.
With JMU needing a new head coach, here are some names the Dukes could think about.
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Penn State Defensive Coordinator Manny Diaz
Diaz is both a successful assistant at a Power Five program and a previous head coach. Hiring someone like him could inspire enthusiasm for JMU with Cignetti leaving.
Diaz has been the defensive coordinator at Penn State since last year. This season, the Nittany Lions rank first in the country in total defense with 223.2 yards per game allowed and third in scoring defense with 11.42 points per game allowed.
Previously, Diaz was the head coach at Miami from 2019-21 as well as the team’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2016-18. He went 21-15 as the head coach there.
Since 2006, he’s been a defensive coordinator at several other schools, including Mississippi State (2010 and 2015), Louisiana Tech (2014), Texas (2011-13), and Middle Tennessee (2006-09).
Diaz’s experience would make him a good hire at JMU.
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Oregon Tight Ends Coach Drew Mehringer
Mehringer was previously a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at JMU in 2014 and has since worked in a variety of roles at the FBS level.
Mehringer currently works with tight ends at Oregon. This year, Ducks tight end Terrance Ferguson is fourth on the team with 379 receiving yards to go with three touchdowns and 36 catches.
Mehringer began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Iowa State (2010-11) and at Ohio State (2012-13). Mehringer was once the youngest play caller in the Power Five when he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Rutgers in 2016.
After that, he was a wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Texas (2017-19), a co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at FAU (2020), and a quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at New Mexico (2021).
Mehringer’s experience and familiarity with the Dukes would make him a good fit.
Montana State Head Coach Brent Vigen
JMU hired Cignetti when he was already a head coach at Elon. Perhaps the program will prioritize that sort of experience again. And Vigen is going to be a popular name when it comes to Group of Five head coaching searches for the next couple years.
Vigen has been Montana State’s head coach since 2021. That first year, he led the Bobcats to their first national championship appearance since 1984. Last season, Montana State reached the national semifinals before losing to the eventual champion, South Dakota State. The Bobcats are now widely regarded as a top-five FCS program.
JMU would be smart to consider hiring Vigen.
Holy Cross Head Coach Bob Chesney
Bob Chesney was reportedly considered for the Syracuse head coaching job. Maybe he ends up getting considered at JMU now.
Chesney has been the head coach at Holy Cross since 2018. The Crusaders haven’t had a losing season since his first year there.
In fact, Holy Cross had been in the FCS playoffs every year since 2019 before this season. The Crusaders reached the second round of the playoffs in 2021 and got to the quarterfinals in 2022, finishing with a 12-1 overall record. Holy Cross was 7-4 in 2023.
Chesney has been the Patriot League Coach of the Year three times, leading the program to four conference championships.
Chesney has a strong track record as a head coach at the FCS level.
Tennessee Running Backs Coach Jerry Mack
Mack has experience as a head coach and a coordinator. He’s also familiar with the Sun Belt, having played at Arkansas State, so he could be a good fit.
Mack has been Tennessee’s running backs coach since 2021. This year, the Volunteers are 12th in the country with 202.6 rushing yards per game. Leading rusher Jaylen Wright is among the top 40 running backs in the country with 1,013 yards on the ground.
Before this, he was an associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach at Rice. He’s also been a head coach at North Carolina Central, a wide receivers coach at South Alabama and Memphis, an OC and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Central Arkansas, and a wide receivers/tight ends coach at Jackson State.
With a resume like his, Mack would deserve to be a head coaching candidate for the Dukes.
