Two coaches, different teams, but the same success. Curt Cignetti’s 16-0 season and title win didn’t just rewrite the Hoosiers’ record books; it redefined what the program could be. Cignetti, through his coaching techniques, recruitment, and massive turnaround, pushed Indiana from a dead team to a top contender. And according to one ESPN analyst, that blueprint looks awfully familiar to a Super Bowl team. 

“It’s on his third team, Robert Spillane; nobody really wanted him,” ESPN analyst Booger McFarland said on the NFL PrimeTime podcast. “All these guys come to New England, and they get together with Mike Vrabel, and they play their best football. It’s amazing what a coach would do.

McFarland went on to explain why the comparison resonates, “It almost reminds me of Indiana cursing in that way. He took a lot of guys that played in a lot of places, and he brought them to a place, and he put them under one coach, and he believed in them. Mike Vrabel did the same thing with all the players that I mentioned. He believed in them.”

Well, McFarland’s parallels make perfect sense. After going through two tough 4-13 back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024, the Patriots needed an immediate turnaround. That reset came with getting quarterback Drake Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and hiring head coach Mike Vrabel.

Maye emerged as one of the NFL’s best QBs. He threw for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. With him, he even got Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane to sign a three-year contract for $33 million. His journey started on an uncertain foot as he got in with an undrafted free agent from Western Michigan in 2018. However, after trips with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders, he became a key defensive player in Vrabel’s squad.

This season, he appeared in 13 games and recorded 97 total tackles and five passes defended. Other players, like wide receiver Stefon Diggs, came to the Patriots after a tough season in Houston, Texas, recording just 496 yards with just 47 receptions. But Vrabel still got him, and this season he recorded 1,031 yards for 85 receptions with four touchdowns.

Even cornerback Marcus Jones and tight end Hunter Henry made an immediate impact on the team. Mike Vrabel built his team from scratch and took his team to a 17-3 season in his very first season. Just like Curt Cignetti did with Indiana. Before him, no other coach could win a national championship in the program’s history. He got Fernando Mendoza from Cal and developed him into a Heisman winner.

He, with other key players like wide receivers Elijah Sarratt and Charlie Becker, and linebacker Kaelon Black, and Curt Cignetti, took his underdog team to a title win. So, both teams have new head coaches and teams. After drawing this striking similarity, Curt Cignetti’s QB transitions to the NFL.

Curt Cignetti’s QB prepares for NFL draft

At 6’5″ and 225 lbs, Mendoza looks exactly like what you’d want in a pro quarterback. His elite accuracy and his ability to process what’s happening on the field lightning are what set him apart from the rest. In 2025, he threw for 3,535 yards and a nation-leading 41 touchdowns with only six interceptions. He’s as good a pocket passer as anyone in the country, if not better. With a weak QB class like this, it’s fair to call him ‘pro-ready.’ However, it’s not like he doesn’t have that red flag!

The glaring issue with QBs like Fernando Mendoza and his likes is a lack of functionality in the pocket. But after that iconic 12-yard score to seal the national championship, some folks might give him the benefit of the doubt. Then again, it might have worked against Miami’s defense. The chances are very slim that he would out-break the front seven or DBs. Those things only happen in college football.

Some scouts also mentioned that he can be timid or panic when he’s forced to move off his pocket if he’s going to teams like the Raiders without any interim linemen from the drafts or free agency. They were ranked No. 1 in sacks allowed (68-69 sacks). Then he’s as good as any 5th-round draft pick.

Then again, Mendoza is the cleanest prospect in what many say is arguably the worst QB class of all time, if Trinidad Chambliss gets extra eligibility and curves the draft process.

As far as comparison goes, he’s relatively closer to Matt Ryan and Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions. The Raiders are taking a leap of faith on Mendoza, which they most probably will. The Raiders and Tom Brady better need to stack almost every position on the roster. Even then, the Raiders might have to be patient for years with Mendoza.