Staff continuity has been a highlight of Curt Cignetti’s tenure, even before he became Indiana football coach.
His lone defect off of last year’s staff, which finished a historic season by making the College Football Playoff, is already looking for a new job. Tino Sunseri was quarterbacks coach for that run, and had served in that role under Cignetti since 2021, and left in the offseason for the opportunity to call plays at UCLA as its offensive coordinator.
In what seemed like a good pairing for Sunseri and UCLA coach Deshaun Foster along with Tennessee transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava has led to staff firings and one of the worst offenses in college football. Sunseri and the Bruins agreed to mutually part ways, the Los Angeles Times and ESPN reported late Tuesday night.
The Bruins (0-4, 0-1 Big Ten) are 132nd out of 134 FBS teams in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game, and was 117th in gaining 321.2 yards per game. That includes facing deficits of two or three scores in every game before the Bruins scored.
Sunseri was hailed for his success working with transfer quarterbacks by Foster, a UCLA alumnus who was fired after a 5-10 start. Sunseri worked with transfer quarterbacks Todd Centeio (2022) and Jordan McCloud (2023) at James Madison, and Kurtis Rourke (2024) at IU. The Hoosiers averaged 41.3 points per game, second nationally, last season.
“That’s what we are really excited about, that he’s taking guys in one year and completely flipped it upside down,” Foster told The Herald-Times at Big Ten media days. “We’re looking forward to that.”
And Iamaleava was looking forward to it, too.
“Coach Tino brings everything to the table,” Iamaleava said on Big Ten Network. “I think he truly has an everything offense in his playbook and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
The Hoosiers are sixth nationally this season, scoring 47.8 points per game under offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan.
The Bruins will visit IU on Oct. 25, but without Foster, Sunseri and others.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Lone staffer to leave Indiana football looking for new job after 4 games, reports say
Reporting by Aaron Ferguson and Michael Niziolek, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
