Meet the Coaches: Ola Adams Hired as Safeties and Defensive Backs Coach After Coaching Against Cignetti, Indiana

Ola Adams has coaching experience with Penn State, the Denver Broncos and as a defensive coordinator. Now he joins Curt Cignetti’s staff as Indiana’s defensive backs and safeties coach.

Ola Adams was an assistant defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos in 2022. / AP Photo/David Zalubowski

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When the opportunity arose to coach at Indiana, Ola Adams recalled a game from the 2023 season when he was a defensive analyst and analytics coordinator for Penn State. 

Indiana scored two long touchdowns in the first half, a 90-yard pass to DeQuece Carter and a 69-yard pass to Donaven McCulley that Adams said “really rattled our guys.” Those big plays came against a Penn State defense that allowed the fewest yards per game in the nation at 223.3 in 2023 and ranked third nationally in points allowed per game at 11.4.

Penn State needed a 57-yard touchdown of its own with less than two minutes left to avoid the upset and beat Indiana 33-24 at Beaver Stadium. Adams considered that a breakthrough game for McCulley, who he saw improve week after week, and he felt it was the first time all season that an offensive line moved Penn State off the ball. 

Adams said those traits, among other factors, were why he was excited to coach at Indiana.

“They played harder than we did that day,” Adams said in an interview with Indiana broadcaster Rhett Lewis. “We beat ‘em, but they played harder than we did. … It just really stood out to me that they outhustled us, and that’s just something that doesn’t sit right in my stomach. That’s one thing that I always want to do is work harder than the guy I’m going against.”

Prior to Penn State, Adams spent the 2022 season in the NFL with the Denver Broncos as the assistant defensive backs coach, where he worked with first-team All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II. He also has experience calling plays as the defensive coordinator at Villanova from 2019-21 and SUNY-Courtland from 2011-13. 

His seven year run at Villanova overlapped with Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti’s time at James Madison and featured two matchups. Cignetti’s Dukes defeated Villanova 38-24 in 2019, but Adams and the Wildcats got revenge with a 28-27 win in Harrisonburg, Va., in 2021, one of just two James Madison losses all season. 

Villanova’s defense pitched a shutout in the second half of that game, and perhaps it drew Cignetti to Adams when building his staff at Indiana.

“That’s why coach Cignetti hired me,” Adams said with a smile. “I know he’s not going to be happy when he sees that.”

Adams came to Bloomington to coach Indiana’s safeties and defensive backs. That unit lost two starters from 2023: Louis Moore, who transferred to Ole Miss, and Phillip Dunnam, who transferred to Florida Atlantic. Dunnam led the Hoosiers with six pass breakups last year, and he and Moore combined for six of Indiana’s 10 interceptions.

In the winter transfer portal window, Cignetii added two safeties that received All-Sun Belt honorable mentions in 2023 at Old Dominion, seniors Terry Jones Jr and Shawn Asbury II, who Adams recruited out of high school. 

Asbury totaled 93 tackles, six tackles for loss, four pass breakups and an interception. Jones was a team captain and made 107 tackles, four tackles for loss, four pass breakups and forced a fumble. Senior DJ Warnell Jr. transferred to Indiana during the spring window and brings experience playing safety and cornerback at Arizona and UCLA. 

Indiana returns veteran safety Josh Sanguinetti, who’s played 39 games for the Hoosiers, as well as safeties Bryson Bonds, Amare Ferrell and Tyrik McDaniel. Nic Toomer is making the transition from cornerback to safety after making three pass breakups and one interception at Indiana last season. 

Adams said roster turnover is always a challenge, but he also sees it as an opportunity for players to earn their roles. He’s learning Indiana’s defensive system, too, which mostly requires learning different terminology. Adams said getting out of his comfort zone is a good thing because it requires him to grow as a coach.

When watching Indiana’s 2023 film, Adams felt fundamentals and missed tackles cost the Hoosiers in a few games. He’s working on cleaning up those areas while challenging players to improve their one-on-one coverage and forcing takeaways. 

Overall, he wants the safeties to command the defense.

“We’re pretty much the quarterback of the defense,” Adams said. “So we’ve been harping on communication and just making sure that we’re bold about getting everybody lined up, getting everybody in the right places. Your voice projects confidence, and when you’re not yelling the calls out, then everybody else around you is unsure what they’re doing.”

Adams said he changed his coaching philosophy in 2012 to emphasize production. At the time, he was the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at SUNY-Courtland. He would give players a check mark if they did their job, but too often he noticed players grading out to 95% without making any big plays. 

The more he studied the game, he learned that takeaways are the key factor in determining wins and losses. So for the last 10-plus seasons, and now continuing at Indiana, he grades his position group on production every day.

“We need to not just be out there as a body just doing the right thing,” Adams said. “We need to do the right thing and make plays.”

During his short time at Indiana, Adams has been inspired by Cignetti’s attitude. He referenced a meeting this offseason when Cignetti had a simple yet impactful message. 

“[Cignetti] just sat the staff down,” Adams said. “And he was like, ‘Hey guys, there’s one thing that you’re going to know about me, I’m all about winning.’”

“That almost made me tear up, just made me want to go play right now,” Adams said. “...We all come from a winning background, so something has to give. I know I didn’t come here not to win. That’s why I love being around coach Cig.”

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