'Rock the purple': Former Holy Cross football coach Bob Chesney aims to 'advance ... accelerate' program at James Madison
Unlike at Bob Chesney’s first three head coaching stops, Salve Regina, Assumption and Holy Cross, he won’t be facing a restoration in his new position at James Madison.
The Dukes, long a Football Championship Subdivision power, have made a successful transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision over the last two years, and at 11-1 and as the No. 24 team in the country, JMU is preparing to play in the Armed Forces Bowl Dec. 23.
“I’m not here to knock down a program and build it up from scratch,” Chesney said during his introductory news conference Tuesday afternoon at JMU in Harrisonburg, Virginia. “I am here to advance it and accelerate it, add to it and not slow it down in any which way. There are a lot of unbelievably great things going on on that field that are going to continue. At the same point, I think there are some things I can help with to take us to that next level. I’m excited to put that into place.”
Last Thursday, James Madison hired the 46-year-old Chesney, who guided Holy Cross to a record five straight Patriot League titles in his six years on the hill, as the ninth coach in program history. Chesney signed a five-year contract.
In opening remarks, James Madison president Jonathan Alger pointed out what HC and Assumption fans certainly knew during Chesney’s 11 years in Worcester, that his energy and enthusiasm were palpable.
“Even during a late-night Zoom call,” Alger said, that the two had last week after Chesney returned from Las Vegas, where he was supporting Holy Cross linebacker Jacob Dobbs at the National Football Foundation awards banquet.
Alger also noted that Chesney, who wore a purple tie for the news conference, “rocks the purple,” which, like HC, is JMU’s school color.
A large contingent of Chesney’s family, including his wife, Andrea, and their children Lyla, Hudson and Bo, and Chesney’s parents, Bob Sr. and Claudia, attended the news conference.
Chesney asked Andrea and the kids to stand and told them, “thanks for sharing your father.”
Chesney, who is 111-46 (.707) in his 13-year career, guided Holy Cross to four straight NCAA playoff appearances and the program’s first postseason win in 2021. Last season, the Crusaders won a single-season program-record 12 games, advanced to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs, and finished with a No. 6 national ranking. Chesney was a two-time finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award as FCS coach of the year. He led Assumption to three NCAA Division 2 playoff appearances and the most successful five-year stretch in program history. He went 23-9 in three seasons at Salve Regina.
JMU seems like the natural next step in Chesney’s coaching career.
“What makes me ready for this,” he said, “is, as an FCS coach, I did not say, ‘this is just FCS football. Let’s run it that way.’ When you look at the way our recruiting (at Holy Cross) is done, the way our sports science is done, the way our practices are done, the way our schematics are done, the overall run of the program is more like an NFL program than an FBS program. Anywhere I’ve been, my goal has been to make it as close to a professional program as possible.”
That goal will continue at James Madison.
“My objective is to make sure we’re recruiting at a higher level and we are building a program at a higher level,” Chesney said. “Let’s make sure we’re implementing that, identifying talent, developing talent and then making sure we can produce on the field by the way we practice, by the way we test things in fire, by the way we run this program that puts us in position to be extremely successful, which we will do here.”
Building honest, open and meaningful relationships is a cornerstone of Chesney’s programs, and he is in the process of beginning that now with his new players.
Recruiting, evaluating and putting together a staff are also part of Chesney’s immediate to-do list.
“The amount of work being packed into these days is extreme,” he said, “and we have a whole lot more of it, but I love every single minute of it.”
Damian Wroblewski, JMU’s associate head coach for offense, will coach the Dukes in the bowl game.
As for his staff, Chesney did not say who he would retain from JMU, bring from Holy Cross or hire from another program. “We’ll find a perfect blend of all of it,” he said.
Chesney replaces Curt Cignetti, who became the coach at Indiana on Nov. 30.
Following Cignetti’s departure, Chesney emerged as the top candidate quickly, and the interview and hiring process was rapid.
James Madison athletic director Jeff Bourne, who will retire in the spring, and other JMU administrators, visited Chesney at his Worcester home last week.
Chesney, Bourne said, gave a “powerful” presentation.
“(We said) We’ve got our guy,” Bourne said. “You could just feel it.”
Chesney thanked members of the Holy Cross community, including president Vincent Rougeau, associate vice president for intercollegiate athletics Kit Hughes and deputy director of athletics Nick Smith, who hired Chesney at Assumption, as well as players and coaches, their families, alumni and administrators, “who entrusted and believed in me and helped us reach unprecedented heights there.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Former Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney aims to 'advance ... accelerate' football program at James Madison
