James Madison Football Coaches And Coordinators 2023

James Madison Football coaching staff is given below:

Curt Cignetti has been the head coach of the James Madison Dukes football team since 2019. Before him, Mike Houston was the HC from 2016 to 2018.

The Dukes’ head coach is a former quarterback who played for the West Virginia Mountaineers from 1979 to 1982.

After graduation, he began coaching as a graduate assistant under Foge Fazio in 1983. He remained with the Pittsburgh Panthers until 1984.

The Davidson Wildcats hired him to coach the quarterbacks and wide receivers in 1985. He also served as the quarterback coach for the Rice Owls (1986 to 1988) and the Temple Owls (1989 to 1992).

In 1993, he was appointed quarterback and tight end coach at the Panthers. In 2000, he was also given the recruiting coordinator role when he took the NC State Wolfpack job.

In 2007, he came to the Alabama Crimson Tide to work under Nick Saban as the WR and RC.

After four years under Saban, he was made the IUP Crimson Hawks head coach. Under his supervision, the Hawks won 53 and lost 17 in six years.

Likewise, he moved to the Elon Phoenix in 2017. He recorded fourteen wins and nine losses in two campaigns.

Arrival at the Dukes

Curt took the James Madison job in 2019 and impressed everyone. The team was 8-0 in Colonial Athletic Association conference and had a 14-2 overall record.

The 2020 and 2021 campaigns were also victorious, registering 7-1 and 12-2 records.

Many doubted when the team moved to the Sun Belt in 2022, but it cleared instantly. The Dukes were joint first in the East division with an overall record of 8-3.

They are 10-1 in the 2023 season and would like to improve it to 11-1 by defeating the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on November 26.

Cignetti’s overall HC record is 118-35.

James Madison football coach salary

Curt Cignetti 2023 salary is $677,311. He is also liable to receive a maximum bonus of $300K and $85K as the prior year’s bonus.

He made $621,008 with a $390K bonus in 2022.

Past Head Coaches

Eight people have coached the Dukes since their first college football season in 1972. Over the 52 seasons, the team has pulled a record of 368-224-4.

Here are all the coaches who were in the driving seat before Curt:

• Mike Houston: 2016 to 2018 (37-6)
• Everett Withers: 2014 to 2015 (19-7)
• Mickey Matthews: 1999 to 2013 (109-71)
• Alex Wood: 1995 to 1998 (23-22)
• Rip Scherer: 1991 to 1994 (29-19)
• Joe Purzycki: 1985 to 1990 (34-30-2)
• Challace McMillin: 1972 to 1984 (67-60-2)

James Madison offensive coordinator is Mike Shanahan. He was hired as the Wide Receivers coach and recruiting coordinator in 2018.

Mike hails from North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Norwin High School and attended the University of Pittsburgh.

He arrived at the Pittsburgh Panthers football team as a hot property, and he was included in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Fabulous Five” and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review “Terrific 10.”

The wide receiver made 2,177 receiving yards and 159 receptions during his collegiate career. Unfortunately, he remained an undrafted rookie in the 2013 NFL Draft.

The New York Jets signed him as an UDFA in 2013. After getting released, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also signed him. But he was waived a day later.

It turned his mindset towards coaching. He returned to the Panthers as a volunteer assistant in 2014 and became a graduate assistant in 2015.

He arrived at IUP Crimson Hawks in 2016 as a WR coach and worked under Cignetti. When Curt moved to Elon Phoenix in 2017, he recruited Shanahan in the same role.

Likewise, another change in Cignetti’s workplace saw Mike move to the Dukes. This time, he was burdened with the recruiting coordinator role.

In 2021, he was promoted to the Offensive Coordinator role.

James Madison defensive coordinator Bryant Haines got promoted to the role before the 2022 campaign. Initially, he arrived as a Linebackers coach.

Mr. Haines is an alumnus of Ball State University. He enjoyed his collegiate career as a linebacker and was included in the 2008 Dick Butkus Award watchlist.

After graduating in 2009, he got his first coaching experience at Manchester College. Then, in 2010, he moved to Adrian College.

Similarly, he was with Indiana in 2012 before taking over the linebackers coaching duty at the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2013.

When he took the IUP job, he worked under Cignetti for two years, from 2014 to 2015. The rushing defense in 2014 was 4th, while they dropped to 13th in 2015.

In 2016, he took the UC Davis job as the linebackers coach. Elon recruited him in 2017 and reunited with Curt.

Bryant was included in Curt’s staff when he arrived at the Dukes in 2019. Similar to Mike Shanahan, this is his third school with Cignetti. 

JMU is ineligible for a bowl game because they have not completed their second season as a FBS team. It is their second season in the Sun Belt conference.

Before the 2022 season, the Dukes competed in the FCS level at the Colonial Athletic Association.

Per NCAA guidelines, any school transitioning from one division to another must sit out two postseasons before they are deemed eligible for a bowl game. The transitioning football programs are not entertained in the College Football Playoff Rankings and are excluded from Conference Championship games.

The rule was passed with a specific picture that the transitioning teams would struggle in bigger stages and wouldn’t be bowl game candidates in the initial years. But the Dukes have proved the naysayers wrong.

Right from the start, James Madison played solid football under Cignetti and established their domain in the Sun Belt. They topped the East division with an 8-3 overall record.

Likewise, the 2023 campaign saw an improved and more robust team who have dominated the East division with a 10-1 overall record. Despite being the best in the Sun Belt, they cannot participate in bowl games.