IU football loses one coach to Big Ten coordinator job, but all other assistants get new deals

Posted by Admin December 5, 2024 Football

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BLOOMINGTON – Tino Sunseri, IU’s quarterbacks coach/co-offensive coordinator, is expected to leave Indiana for the open coordinator position at UCLA.

A source confirmed Sunseri’s expected departure for Westwood on Thursday afternoon, though he will stay through the Hoosiers’ College Football Playoff run.

The remaining nine assistant coaches on Curt Cignetti’s staff, as well as football’s director of athletic performance, Derek Owings, have all signed new multiyear contracts with Indiana, IndyStar confirmed.

Sunseri’s impending move comes as little surprise. The Pitt alum was considered a rising star when he coached under Cignetti at James Madison, and Sunseri’s work this season alongside co-OC and play caller Mike Shanahan helped the Hoosiers build one of America’s most productive offenses.

Sunseri was crucial in the recruitment and development of Ohio transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke, whose all-conference performances this season have played a key role in the Hoosiers’ rise into the College Football Playoff. Rourke led the country in passer rating in 2024, per CFBStats.com, and his 27 touchdowns and 9.9 yards per attempt were either first or tied for first in the Big Ten. His 70.4% completion rate would be a single-season program record if it holds up through the postseason.

Sunseri added co-coordinator to his title when he made the move from Harrisonburg to Bloomington last winter, making his move west now a natural step up. UCLA parted ways with coordinator Eric Bienemy earlier Thursday, after an inconsistent offense paved the road to a 5-7 record in head coach DeShaun Foster’s first season leading the Bruins.

Foster will be familiar with Sunseri thanks in part to his time with the Carolina Panthers. Foster was a running back in Carolina from 2002-07, overlapping with Sal Sunseri, Tino’s father and the Panthers’ defensive line coach from 2002-08.

It’s not yet clear who Cignetti might target to replace Sunseri, but Sunseri is expected to stay with Indiana’s staff through the balance of the Hoosiers’ run through the Playoff.

While Sunseri’s departure leaves a key role unfilled on Cignetti’s offensive staff, the retention of the rest of his assistants will be a significant boost for a coach who has often credited staff continuity as key to success.

Cignetti will keep both of his play callers, Shanahan and two-time Broyles Award semifinalist defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, in place. Cignetti will retain the offensive and defensive line staffs that helped author substantial turnarounds at the line of scrimmage for IU this winter. And Cignetti will hold onto Owings, a strength and conditioning coach in whom Cignetti places substantial faith and responsibility.

Details of the fresh terms for remaining staffers were not immediately available. But it stands to reason an assistant-coaching salary pool that was roughly doubled by commitments included in Cignetti’s own new contract, confirmed last month, helped the Hoosiers keep the bulk of a staff that oversaw the most successful season in program history in place.

No. 9 in the latest College Football Playoff selection committee top 25, Indiana will learn its official Playoff fate Sunday afternoon, when the final post-conference championship rankings are released. The Hoosiers appear locked into an at-large berth, and likely to go on the road for their first-round game later this month.

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