Just as the Hoosiers were celebrating a national title, they lost a pillar of their coaching staff. Indiana’s fourth-most important staffer traded Crimson and Cream for an NFL gig. It forced Curt Cignetti to make a pivotal hire to keep the momentum going.

On February 4, college football insider Pete Thamel hopped onto X and shared the news that Indiana is hiring Tino Sunseri as its quarterbacks coach. Sunderi previously held that role at the Hoosiers in 2024 before taking the offensive coordinator job at UCLA.

This hire followed a major exit. Chandler Whitmer, who coached Indiana’s quarterbacks during their perfect 16–0 national title and Heisman run, is heading to the NFL. He’s taking a job as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterbacks coach, where he’ll work with Baker Mayfield.

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Under Whitmer, Fernando Mendoza took home the 2025 Heisman Trophy and led the nation with 41 touchdown passes. The Cal transfer emerged out of nowhere and is predicted to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The good news is Tino Sunseri is no scrub, and he is on par with Whitmer. Tino was actually Indiana’s QB coach in 2024 and also worked with Cignetti during their JMU days. He developed Kurtis Rourke into a second-team All-Big Ten selection, helping IU reach its first-ever College Football Playoff with an 11-2 record before taking a shot as the offensive coordinator at UCLA in 2025.

Unfortunately, that stint in LA didn’t go as planned. The Bruins were miserable as they ranked 123rd in offense at one point last season. So, he got let go mid-season. Judging by this hire, it’s obvious Cignetti is trusting his former soldier to replace one of his most important staff members. The last time a college football head coach brought back his QB coach or specialist and won a national title was Nick Saban with Steve Sarkisian in 2020, after their initial stint in 2016.

Now, Sunseri’s biggest job is getting the TCU transfer Josh Hoover ready for a big 2026. Hoover is currently the nation’s leading returning passer with 9,629 career yards, making him the clear favorite to lead the offense in the post-Mendoza era.

Josh Hoover and Tino Sunseri combo

Let’s start with the fit between Hoover’s style and Sunseri’s system; it is almost perfect. Hoover is one of the last remaining OG gunslingers in college football. At TCU, he loved the Run-Pass Option (RPO) game, which happens to be the bread and butter for the Indiana Hoosiers. Since Hoover already has 16 career games with over 300 passing yards, he shouldn’t have any trouble stepping into that high-flying offense.

However, Sunseri’s main project will be ‘cleaning up’ Hoover’s game. With Hoover’s greatest gift comes his biggest curse: picks. Josh Hoover threw 33 interceptions in just 3 seasons. Averaging 11 per season. The issue stems from when he tends to force big plays when they aren’t there, leading to “multi-pick” games where he’d throw two or three interceptions in a single afternoon.

That’s not going to be sustainable if you are competing for natty. If they can find that fine-line balance there, Hoover has a legitimate shot at staying in the Heisman Trophy race. After all, Vegas has him with the second- or third-best odds. Safe to say, Hoosiers Nation isn’t crazy for dreaming about running it back and chasing another natty next season.