Derek Schultz: Back home again for Pat Kuntz

Hustle and bustle held an entirely new meaning this past holiday season for Pat Kuntz and his family.

After being an integral part of a coaching staff that led an 11-win campaign at James Madison—a season that included being ranked in the Top 25 polls and a visit to Harrisonburg from ESPN’s College Gameday—Kuntz watched as the Dukes’ head coach, Curt Cignetti, jumped at a new opportunity with Indiana University on the last day of November.

Even as a native Hoosier and former IU staffer under previous head coach Tom Allen, Kuntz, the defensive line coach on Cignetti’s staff at JMU, knew that a Bloomington homecoming wasn’t a guarantee for him. “Just because your coach leaves, it doesn’t mean you’re going with them, so I wasn’t sure if I was going or staying,” remembers Kuntz. “In this business, nothing is permanent until you show up and sign the documents.”

Following what he calls a “very stressful” few weeks, Kuntz received the call with the offer he had been waiting for and officially put pen to paper, shifting his defensive line responsibilities from James Madison to IU on Dec. 13. Six days later, he and his wife, Amber, welcomed their second child, a healthy baby boy named Axel. The new family of four celebrated Christmas the following Monday.

Before the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve, the Kuntzes were back home.

‘He was so intense’

Before he got into coaching, Pat Kuntz had a memorable run as a star player in high school.

Wreaking havoc from the teeth of Roncalli’s defense in the early 2000s, Kuntz was a relentless defensive lineman who helped lead a football dynasty. Behind a trio of high-major standouts, which also included Jason Werner (Purdue) and Tim Sergi (Indiana), the Rebels rattled off three straight 4A state championships from 2002-2004. They allowed a touchdown or less in more than half (22) of their 40 games over those three seasons, with Kuntz compiling 115 tackles and 14 sacks as a senior.

Former Roncalli head coach Bruce Scifres, a seven-time Indiana state champion and inductee of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame, remembers seeing something special in Kuntz right away.

“I never remember him not going 100 miles an hour,” said Scifres. “When he was younger, he would challenge the seniors in one-on-one drills. Whether it was practice, in the weight room, or on game day, he was just so intense all the time.”

When those Friday night lights were off, however, Kuntz let his personality shine. Talk to any southsider about Pat Kuntz off the field, and everyone points to the big personality that backed up his big game.

“Pat would’ve been well-known even if he didn’t end up being a great athlete,” said Werner, his high school teammate and 2004 Indiana Mr. Football winner. “His personality is second to none. He’s truly unique.”

Like he did to everyone else, Kuntz especially stood out to Notre Dame’s new coaching staff under Charlie Weis, who made him an immediate priority right after being brought on in December of 2004. The Roncalli star rewarded Notre Dame’s late scholarship offer, becoming a productive player and eventual key starter for the Irish. He earned Lineman of the Year honors in 2007 and 2008 while chasing quarterbacks, batting down passes and changing up hairstyles—everything from mullets to mohawks—as one of the most flamboyant members of the team. Those hijinks endeared Kuntz to Irish teammates and fans alike at a time when the program was struggling (Notre Dame went 10-15 in Kuntz’s final two seasons) and there wasn’t much else to smile about.

Football dreams derailed

The plan for Pat Kuntz was to someday be a pro. From his very early days starring for city champion St. Barnabas on the south side of Indy to his standout career in South Bend, he was always one of his team’s most recognized players. While he went unselected in the 2009 NFL Draft, Kuntz was given his professional shot, being brought in by his hometown Colts as an undrafted free agent in April. Sharing the same locker room as Peyton Manning was a dream come true for the Indy native, but his NFL stint was short-lived, as Kuntz wasn’t able to survive final cuts later that summer.

“I never realistically understood that football doesn’t last forever, so it was a big cut for me,” Kuntz said, “It took a chunk out of my soul.”

While waiting for the call from another pro team that never came, Kuntz longed to satisfy his football craving while also scrambling to build a contingency plan for his career and life. Coaching football checked both of those boxes.

From West 56th Street to the westside, Kuntz’s sudden foray into coaching began at Danville High School less than a month after he was let go by the Colts. Going from competing against Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis in August to battling Tri-West and Frankfort in September took what Kuntz called a “mental adjustment,” but it got his foot in the door. The next season, he reunited with Scifres at Roncalli and spent the next six seasons at his alma mater, eventually running the defense he used to lead as a player.

Moving on up

Hoping to both network and latch onto the next level, Kuntz sent out batches of letters to college football coaches and eventually caught the eye of Tom Allen at Indiana. Allen ended up offering Kuntz a spot as a graduate assistant on the Hoosiers’ staff, where Kuntz spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He parlayed that into his first full-time opportunity—a three-year run at Virginia Military Institute as defensive line coach, before heading to James Madison.

Although he has yet to be more than a position coach, Kuntz has seen a lot of winning on the collegiate sidelines. The Keydets won their first conference championship in over three decades in Kuntz’s second season at VMI and made their first-ever FCS playoff appearance, quite an accomplishment for a program that had gone 1-21 the two seasons before Kuntz was hired. Despite being ineligible for the conference title game while shifting from FCS to FBS, James Madison won the East Division in each of the first two years Kuntz spent on Cignett’s staff, going 19-4 overall. Kuntz took home some honors himself, being named to the 247Sports All-Assistant Team thanks to his work with the vaunted JMU defensive front.

That was good enough for the new Hoosiers head coach to keep him along for the ride to the Big Ten and back to Indiana.

“Pat is excellent on the field, brings the energy every day, and is a tremendous recruiter,” said Cignetti. “He has developed into an outstanding football coach, and he’ll be a real asset to our staff at Indiana.”

“I’ve never been more confident in anything in my life than Pat succeeding in whatever he aspired to do,” said Werner. “His leadership and intensity sets the tone for every single person around him, and he has a true talent in educating and inspiring those he coaches.”

At 37 years old, Kuntz isn’t concerned with what the future may hold. Instead, for someone who has spent over two decades living up his football life both on and off the field, he’s focused on the present and continuing a dream journey.

“My wife and I talk about how crazy it is all the time,” said Kuntz. “We can’t believe we’re in Bloomington, the place we met, with our family and support staff nearby for us and our two boys.”

“I can’t write it up any better than this.”•

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From Peyton Manning’s peak with the Colts to the Pacers’ most recent roster makeover, Schultz has talked about it all as a sports personality in Indianapolis for more than 15 years. Besides his written work with IBJ, he’s active in podcasting and show hosting. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @Schultz975.