Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-15 · by Steve Megargee The Associated Press
The article discusses contrasting approaches in hiring head coaches for Big Ten football programs. While some universities like Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State opted for experienced Power Five head coaches, UCLA chose Bob Chesney who lacks such experience but brings his top players from James Madison with him. The piece explores how bringing former players to new teams could become a trend, as seen with other recent hires like Matt Campbell at Penn State and Kyle Whittingham at Michigan.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
One look at the newest members of the Big Ten’s head coaching fraternity reveals two distinct schools of thought regarding hiring strategies.
asserted
look → reveal → strategies
No. 19 Michigan, Michigan State and No. 14 Penn State chose coaches with at least a decade of Power Four head coaching experience.
asserted
Michigan → choose → experience
UCLA went in a different direction, showing the range of opinions on how much experience matters.
asserted
experience → go → opinions
Nebraska’s Matt Rhule suggests another factor might mean more nowadays.
uncertain
factor → suggest → more
“I don’t know that you’ll see moving forward, schools when they hire a coach, caring about their experience,” Rhule said.
asserted
Rhule → know → experience
“I think the No. 1 thing they’re going to worry about is the roster and what they’re going to bring with them.
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they → think → them
Any athletic director making that decision could cite Indiana’s stunning turnaround under Curt Cignetti as evidence it’s the right plan.
uncertain
it → make → evidence
Cignetti was an assistant at N.C. State and Alabama before beginning a head coaching career that included stops at Division II Indiana University Pennsylvania, Championship Subdivision program Elon and James Madison.
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that → begin → University
He had never been a Power Four head coach until Indiana took a chance on him.
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Indiana → take → him
His James Madison experience paid off when 13 of his players from that school followed Cignetti to Indiana.
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13 → pay → Indiana
Those James Madison transfers helped Indiana reach the College Football Playoff in Cignetti’s first season, and several of them were part of the Hoosiers’ national championship team last year.
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several → help → team
Some of the Big Ten’s new coaches are following a similar formula.
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Some → follow → formula
Succeeding by bringing your top players with you
Penn State’s Matt Campbell has two dozen of his former Iowa State players with him.
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Campbell → succeed → him
Bob Chesney’s first team at UCLA has 12 players he coached at James Madison.
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he → have → Madison
Four former Utah players and one Utah signee followed coach Kyle Whittingham to Michigan.
asserted
players → follow → Michigan
Rhule speculated these types of arrangements could become more common.
uncertain
types → speculate → arrangements
“I don’t know how it will play out, but as I talk to guys in the business as they’ve had openings, they’re looking at not the coach not the assistants he’s bringing,” Rhule said.
asserted
Rhule → know → coach
“(It’s) how many players are they bringing.”
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they → ’ → players
The most recent hiring cycle suggests experience still means plenty.
uncertain
experience → suggest → plenty
Michigan and Michigan State hired veteran coaches to stabilize programs in turmoil.
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Michigan → hire → turmoil
Whittingham coached 22 seasons and won 177 games at Utah.
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Whittingham → coach → Utah
Michigan State’s Pat Fitzgerald is in his second Big Ten coaching stint after going 110-101 at Northwestern from 2006-22.
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Fitzgerald → go → 2006
“I understand what it means to be a coach in this league and to compete in this league,” Fitzgerald said.
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Fitzgerald → understand → league
“I’m just going to give everything I have and more.”
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I → go → everything
Campbell headed to Penn State after going 127-72 at Iowa State from 2016-25.
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Campbell → head → 2016
He believes his Big 12 experience helps him understand the impact of all recent changes in the college football landscape.
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him → believe → landscape
“I’m not naïve to what the challenges are, from player retention to player acquisition to program development at this level and what it takes to sustain success at this level,” Campbell said.
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Campbell → ’m → level
The most successful recent Big Ten hires didn’t have previous Power Four head coaching experience.
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hires → have → experience
Thriving in first Power Four head coaching roles
Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Oregon’s Dan Lanning are first-time head coaches, and Cignetti’s head coaching experience before Indiana came at non-Power Four schools.
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experience → thrive → schools
All three coached playoff teams last year.
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three → coach → teams
It’s worth noting that they all had Power Four experience as assistants.
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they → ’ → assistants
That’s what makes UCLA’s hire of Chesney such an intriguing gamble.
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hire → ’ → Chesney
He led James Madison to a playoff berth last year after successful stints at the Division III (Salve Regina), Division II (Assumption) and FCS (Holy Cross) levels.
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He → lead → levels
But he had no Power Four experience whatsoever when UCLA hired him.
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UCLA → have → him
Before he had ever coached a game at UCLA, Chesney already could tell one major difference at this level.
uncertain
Chesney → coach → level
“Just the full-contact nature of recruiting is just a little bit different,” Chesney said.
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Chesney → say → recruiting
“There’s no, ‘Hey, this kid is committed and everything’s good.’
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everything → ’ → ?
It’s constant.
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It → ’ → ?
I think that’s probably the one thing for me.
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that → think → me
You can never relax, ever.”
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You → relax → ?
…and 5 more, not listed.
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