r/CFB • u/LaDainianTomIinson Florida Gators • UNLV Rebels • Jan 20 '26

History [Pompliano] Curt Cignetti took over the worst program in college football history and then proceeded to win the school’s first-ever national championship within just two years. It's the most remarkable coaching job in the history of sports.

https://x.com/joepompliano/status/2013466392553505228?s=46
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888

u/pmurt007 Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors • Oregon Ducks Jan 20 '26

Colorado fans thinking this should've been us with Prime

282

u/culasthewiz Colorado Buffaloes Jan 20 '26

Not all of us

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u/Threedawg Michigan State • Colorado Jan 20 '26

Some of us had two schools pass on Cignetti before still hiring a terrible coach

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u/2Slow2Nice Michigan State • Hampton Jan 20 '26

Wait he was available the year we hired Smith?!

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u/Threedawg Michigan State • Colorado Jan 20 '26

Both started in 2024. We hired smith early though.

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u/Lopoetve Colorado Buffaloes Jan 20 '26

Honestly those of us who’d been around a bit wanted a few good years and someone finally making them tank the self imposed sanctions from 20 years ago. He succeeded. I’m all good.

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u/lorage2003 Colorado Buffaloes • Wyoming Cowboys Jan 20 '26

I was a Deion skeptic from the get go. I have zero regrets right now based on Travis's Heisman and exactly what you mentioned about getting rid of the ridiculous self-imposed sanctions. CU football has at least been kind of fun recently, and that's all the old guard ever really wanted. No one in their right mind expected Deion to win a natty. The Oregon flairs here are weird. Maybe Uncle Phil can dump another bil and still not win a natty.

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u/Boomhauer_007 UCLA Bruins • Oregon State Beavers Jan 20 '26

I’ve never seen a non rival team live as rent free in a fanbases head as CU does with Oregon, it’s so weird

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u/lorage2003 Colorado Buffaloes • Wyoming Cowboys Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26

It's so funny too, because we literally don't care about them at all. I mean, did I take a little bit of pleasure seeing Dan Lanning's coked out cry sesh when they lost? Yeah, but only because they're constantly up in our grill. Give it a rest guys. You beat us. You were supposed to. Your coach made that game his soapbox for some reason.

Edit: I guess we beat them in Autzen in 2016 too, but they weren’t going anywhere and we shit the bed down the stretch so 🤷

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u/manbeqrpig Colorado Buffaloes • Rose Bowl Jan 20 '26

They’re jealous of our title

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u/yung_lank Texas A&M Aggies • Nebraska Cornhuskers Jan 20 '26

I’m a Deon and CU hater. Just gonna say that off the bat. But I feel like it was pretty clear he was going to bring eyeballs and kind of reset the program to make it “fun” for the average CU student / alum. He did just that.

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u/lorage2003 Colorado Buffaloes • Wyoming Cowboys Jan 20 '26

I would expect nothing less. You're right, and I hope you continue being a hater.

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u/yung_lank Texas A&M Aggies • Nebraska Cornhuskers Jan 20 '26

My dad was raised into one cult by his grandpa and another by his dad. I have had no choice but to let hate flow through me.

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u/KLWMotorsports Duke Blue Devils • Virginia Tech Hokies Jan 20 '26

...I honestly don't get the praise for Deion now? "Reset" the program? He went there with a 5 star he should have never had, had some decent recruits come in, has a one-off season and the programs literally back to where it was in 2023.

I don't see them being any better this year, but good hire? I guess. Super fun for 1 year, no bowl win(s), no conference championships, 1 Heisman and 54 million dollars. Maybe he does something these last two years....

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u/fulltime_lurker Colorado Buffaloes Jan 20 '26

You’re probably right if you just look at on the field. Off the field CU was actively killing their program. They spent no money on anything, had stupid academic restrictions on recruits that really no one else did, and was making no money. His impact on the schools finances, the city of Boulders finances are unquestionable. Most importantly he showed CU that if they spend money on football, they can make a bunch more back. Now we will see if they continue to spend when he is gone, or CU goes back in their shell.

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u/KLWMotorsports Duke Blue Devils • Virginia Tech Hokies Jan 20 '26

I have no hate against you guys, let me rewind and start with that; I want your program to do well - I just don't like him being praised as something he's not. I hope this actually opens your schools, boosters and national and local company's eyes to invest in the program, but I don't want him keeping you guys mediocre because he can't actually scout or develop kids.

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u/Lopoetve Colorado Buffaloes Jan 20 '26

Oh we don’t really expect much on the field at the moment. But the ability to host a recruit overnight? Not having to transfer with a business, law, or engineering program as your primary major with a 3.5 or higher? Multi year contracts for assistants?

All of those were banned before him. All of them. That’s why we’re happy. We’re on the same playing field as duke now - which is huge.

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u/KLWMotorsports Duke Blue Devils • Virginia Tech Hokies Jan 20 '26

Which is awesome again, but he's not a good coach. Like I said in the comment you responded toward - it's great he was able to do all of this for the program, but thats where it stops with him and he's still due 21.6M dollars to not develop or scout very well for you guys.

Duke just won an ACC championship with a decent coach; you guys are back to where you were when Deion took over with two more possible years of him coaching. I wouldn't say that's the same playing field. Everything you guys have mentioned is great, but you need someone who knows what he's doing with those flood gates now open.

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u/Lopoetve Colorado Buffaloes Jan 20 '26

Well yes, but when the other options being talked about (very quietly) were effectively finding the cheapest coach < $1M that we could and folding the program for 5 years, or just letting Karl Dorell coast on a micro contract…

Folks don’t realize how bad it had gotten. We could barely get a coach - never mind a decent one. We haven’t since Barnett in 2006. No one would come to CU - you couldn’t recruit, you couldn’t get assistants - there was no “go hire a good coach” option, since they’d just laugh. Even the G5 and FBS guys were realizing it was a losing proposition, just look where Mac and Hawk landed afterwards. We were a bottom tier stepping stone.

Something had to shake it up, and if blowing 100M for a Heisman, a good year, and some excitement is what it takes for that? Paid and gladly, honestly. Duke had better luck recruiting than we would have back then. Now we have a chance.

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u/CriticalPolitical Jan 21 '26

The reason why Omarion and Seaton are transferring because Deion can’t coach and develop players worth a Cheez-It. Travis was likely going to win it wherever he was playing, he was ranked the #1 player on the ESPN300. He won the Heisman despite Deion, not because of him. I think many Colorado players on the team (and those who transferred out) see this and understand this. Deion’s strategy is trying to get players who have been coached well by other coaches to transfer to Colorado:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2024/03/20/deion-sanders-colorado-recruiting-no-home-visits/73044384007/

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u/moleculewerks Nebraska • Northumbria Jan 20 '26

While I'm no fan of Deion, I think Colorado (so far) is way into positive territory with his tenure. A Heisman winner and serious interest in the football program is tremendous for CU. Their administration has always made things very hard for sustained success there. Even if Prime can't get such sustained success at CU, at least they've had some real energy injected into their program.

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u/ImagineIfBaconDied Minnesota • CSU Pueblo Jan 20 '26

I think really the national media hyped up Colorado that way with Prime. CU fans really just wanted a team that was fun to watch again and get an overall boost in the program. And it worked with Shedeur and Hunter those two years before they left and CU crashed right back down to the depressing earth

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u/LilBrownBoyX Hawai'i • Ohio State Jan 20 '26

Beating TCU after them coming off a natty appearance was such an exhilarating experience that has not been felt in Boulder since.

Source: I live 18min from Folsom field.

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u/eSpiritCorpse Colorado Buffaloes • /r/CFB Poll Veteran Jan 20 '26

Please, tell me more about what Colorado fans are thinking.

10

u/KingSystem Jan 20 '26

You think cosmos is good pizza

4

u/eSpiritCorpse Colorado Buffaloes • /r/CFB Poll Veteran Jan 20 '26

Hell yeah

10

u/No_Quit_5301 Nebraska Cornhuskers Jan 20 '26

Yall suck lmao

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u/eSpiritCorpse Colorado Buffaloes • /r/CFB Poll Veteran Jan 20 '26

no u

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u/pikajewijewsyou USC Trojans Jan 20 '26

Your gay fans have straight thoughts and your straight fans have gay thoughts! Take that!

2

u/user_1729 Colorado • Virginia Tech Jan 20 '26

I'm not sure I expected a natty, but I did expect...well. Actually, this is about what I expected. In some ways (hunter) he totally exceeded my expectations and in some ways it's been a disappointment. Generally, it's been kind of what I expected. A bump and a fizzle.

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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

lol, prime is a great used car salesman

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u/Gilded-Mongoose USC Trojans Jan 20 '26

And all along it was Sub-Prime

1

u/Hopsblues Colorado State Rams Jan 20 '26

This was more like Bill McCartney actually..

1

u/lorage2003 Colorado Buffaloes • Wyoming Cowboys Jan 20 '26

What are you even talking about?

1

u/Hopsblues Colorado State Rams Jan 20 '26

Cignetti and his building of IU was very similar to the McCartney years, including the religion/god stuff. They both took a dormant program to the top of the world, and praised god the entire way. I noticed last night that they toned back all the praise the lord shit in their post game interviews. It was refreshing to watch a sporting event and not have it turn into a ministry meeting.

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u/lorage2003 Colorado Buffaloes • Wyoming Cowboys Jan 20 '26

Whoops, I originally meant to reply to the Oregon parent comment but did it to yours by mistake. But I tend to agree with you in any event. McCartney's build took significantly longer though, but different eras and all that.

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u/AvgNxDrNeighbor TCU Horned Frogs • Indiana Hoosiers Jan 20 '26

Man, we were just talking tonight about that 5 or 6 weeks when everybody thought Prime was a great coach.

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u/Gryphon426 Jan 20 '26

He was a great coach…for his sons