Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti is one win away from conquering the college football world. Would he consider doing the same in the NFL?
“I’m not an NFL guy,” Cignetti said at a press conference on Saturday ahead of Indiana’s national championship tilt against Miami (Fla.) on Monday. “I made that decision a long time ago. I’ve always been a college football guy.”
Cignetti, 64, is in his second season as Indiana’s head coach, with the Hoosiers going a perfect 15-0 this season and winning the Big Ten. The Hoosiers have gone a combined 26-2 under him since 2024 and logged back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances.
Prior to taking over at Indiana for the 2024 season, Cignetti posted a combined 52-9 record as the head coach at James Madison from 2019-23. He also had head-coaching stints at Elon (2017-18) and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2011-16) and was the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Alabama under head coach Nick Saban from 2007-10.
In the wake of Penn State firing head coach James Franklin in October after 11-plus seasons, Cignetti signed an eight-year extension with Indiana that reportedly features an $11.6 million average annual salary, which makes him the fourth-highest paid coach in the sport.
If Cignetti changes his mind about the NFL, there are nine teams currently seeking a new head coach: Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers.
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