JMU Football Head Coaching Candidates to Replace Curt Cignetti

Image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics Communications

By Bennett Conlin

Curt Cignetti’s reported departure for Indiana leaves JMU in need of a new head football coach for the 2024 season. The program’s last few hires (Withers, Houston, and Cignetti) have all found success immediately, going a combined 37-7 in their first seasons at JMU.

Can JMU quickly find a Cignetti replacement to keep its momentum going? Here are a few possible candidates for the Dukes’ vacant head coaching position. 

Editor’s note: We’ll update this list periodically.

Internal hires

Athletic Director Jeff Bourne suggested in a recent press conference that an internal hire is highly unlikely. Reports also indicate that Mike Shanahan, Bryant Haines, and Tino Sunseri will join Cignetti in Indiana.

We’ve removed those three coaches from our list as a result.

Editor’s note: Thanks to Three Notch’d Brewing for their advertising support this season.

Home-run hire potential

Bob Chesney, Holy Cross – Reports from Shane Mettlen of the DNR indicate that a group led by Jeff Bourne took a flight the morning of December 4 to Worcester, Mass. the home of Holy Cross. According to Greg Madia at the Daily Progress, Chesney has already interviewed for the job and appears to be a front runner. This visit to Worcester, Mass. could be a final push to get Chesney to sign on the dotted line and become JMU’s next head coach.

A Power Five head coaching candidate, Chesney would be a home-run hire. He’s led Holy Cross to a 44-21 record over six seasons, including a 28-4 mark in league play. He also won big at the Division II and Division III levels. He’s going to coach a Power Five team one day. Might he stop by the Group of Five first?

Joe Harasymiak, Rutgers – Now the defensive coordinator for the Scarlet Knights, Harasymiak was Maine’s head coach from 2016-18. He led the Black Bears to a 10-win season in 2018 and then left to be an assistant with Minnesota. He’s a rising star in coaching and would likely thrive if given JMU’s resources. 

The flight that visited Worcester, Mass. on December 4 stopped at Teterboro Airport on the way back to Shenandoah Valley Airport. Teterboro Airport is about 40 miles away from the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers.

Manny Diaz, Penn State – Penn State’s defensive coordinator is reportedly in the mix for the Duke position, but is a big name the Dukes might target. Diaz went 21-15 as Miami’s head coach and has been an exceptional coordinator for many years. While his overall record at Miami wasn’t great and he was fired by the school, Diaz will receive another head coaching opportunity one day. Chances are he’ll take advantage of his next shot. Could JMU pay him enough to attract him to come to Harrisonburg?

Are they in the mix?

The DNR reported Saturday that the JMU search was down to four names, with all four people holding head coaching experience. Chesney and Harasymiak’s names have leaked from multiple reports, as they seem firmly in the group of four.

Source tells DNR JMU has locked in on four candidates, all head coaches or former head coaches. JMU is asking for a steep buyout clause, which has slowed talks with some. Source expects JMU to have a deal with one within 48 hours.

— Catie Harper (@CatieHarper) December 3, 2023

Who might the other two coaches be? Let’s take a stab at a couple possible names, with Bourne reportedly flying to Indiana and possibly Ohio today.

Al Golden, Notre Dame – Notre Dame’s defense is one of the best in the country, in part due to Golden’s teaching. He’s ND’s defensive coordinator at the moment, and Golden also holds valuable recent experience as an NFL assistant. He checks the box of prior head coaching experience, working as the head coach at Temple and Miami previously.

He’s 59-59 overall as a head coach, but he turned Temple around and had a few high moments at Miami. Plenty of quality coaches have “failed” at Miami and still hold value as future head coaching candidates, such as Diaz.

Can JMU afford Golden? Does he want to return to a head coaching role for the first time since 2015? Is JMU even interested? All good questions.

Chuck Martin, Miami Ohio – This feels like an under-the-radar name that would be a quality hire.

Martin led the Redhawks to an 11-2 record and a MAC title this year. He can flat out coach. He’s led Miami Ohio to six consecutive seasons with either a winning record or at least six wins, and despite a defensive background, he was Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator in 2012 when the Fighting Irish went 12-1 and played in the national championship.

Oh, and Martin led Grand Valley State to a 74-7 mark from 2004-09 as the program’s head coach! He won a pair of Division II national titles in that stretch.

He’s one of the lowest paid coaches at the FBS level, so the Dukes could seemingly lure him away from the MAC with an offer in the $1 million range. He fits the Cignetti mold, and he might even be willing to stay in Harrisonburg for 5+ years. If the Dukes seek stability, Martin is worthy of serious consideration.

Other names to monitor

Anthony Poindexter, Penn State – Penn State’s co-defensive coordinator, Poindexter is a stellar recruiter, and he’s a Virginia legend thanks to an elite career at UVA. He seemed poised to take UVA’s head coaching job after Bronco Mendenhall left, but Tony Elliott became the coach. We’ve heard he’s expressed interest in the position.

Rich Rodriguez, Jacksonville State – He’s won 180 games as a college head coach, winning at FBS programs West Virginia, Michigan, Arizona, and Jacksonville State. If the Dukes are looking for head coaching experience, he has it. Could he elevate JMU’s program? Rodriguez has one 10-win season in his last 11 years as a head coach.

Reggie Barlow, XFL – Barlow, the reigning XFL Coach of the Year, has a 83-58 record as a college head coach across stints at Alabama State and Virginia State. He’s a Super Bowl winning wide receiver familiar with recruiting Virginia, and he’s expressed interest in the opening.

Willie Simmons, Florida A&M – Simmons can flat out coach. He’s 64-24 as the head coach of Prairie View A&M and Florida A&M. The Rattlers are an impressive 10-1 this season, and they’ve won at least nine games in four consecutive seasons. 

Drew Mehringer, Oregon – Mehringer has been floated as an option as JMU’s head coach in previous hiring cycles. The former JMU offensive coordinator (2014) currently works as Oregon’s tight ends coach and has worked at Ohio State and Texas previously. He’s an out-of-the-box hire given his youth and lack of head coaching experience, but with the right staff, Mehringer could be a good leader. 

Jerry Mack, Tennessee – The running backs coach at Tennessee, Mack went 31-15 over four seasons as North Carolina Central’s head coach from 2014-17. He has head coaching experience, and he works with an elite Tennessee offense.

Jay Hill, BYU – Now the defensive coordinator at BYU, Hill went 68-39 (50-19 in league games) leading Weber State. Would he want to coach JMU after spending his entire coaching career in Utah? Recruiting Virginia (and really the East Coast) would be a new challenge for Hill, but he’s a damn good head coach.  

DeLane Fitzgerald, Southern Utah University – This may be a bit out of the box, but the JMU alum (1997-1999) and former Dukes defensive line coach (2002) confirmed to us that he has expressed interest in the position and has reached out to the university about the opening. The university has been receptive to his interest per Fitzgerald. The current Southern Utah coach also told us that he expressed interest during the Mike Houston hiring cycle in 2016. Fitzgerald inherited a team that was 6-34 the previous four seasons. Since his hiring in 2022 the Thunderbirds have gone 11-11 and he has led the team through a conference change going to the WAC.

Bryan Stinespring, Roanoke College – The longtime assistant has recently accepted the head job at Roanoke College, which is just starting a football program. I don’t think he has a realistic chance of earning the head coaching gig at JMU, but former players love to float him as a name. Someone will almost certainly bring him up! 

Brandon Staley, Los Angeles Chargers – This is a joke. Mostly.

Editor’s note: Who would you like to lead the Dukes? Drop your pick in the comments.