Curt Cignetti is an overnight success who was years in the making. In his second season at Indiana, the former IUP, Elon, and James Madison head coach has taken the Hoosiers to unprecedented football success.
Thursday’s blowout of Alabama has unlocked a clause in Cignetti’s contract that requires a “fair market review” within 120 days of the final game. Via Alex Schiffer of FrontOfficeSports.com, failure to offer Cignetti a contract that puts him in the top three in annual value among all college coaches would allow him to leave without a buyout.
For now, the buyout is $15 million. Which raises the question of whether an NFL team would consider paying it — and paying Cignetti — to get him to do for it what he has done for Indiana.
His name has not yet emerged as a serious candidate for any of the current vacancies. For now, there are only two: Titans and Giants. It remains to be seen how many other franchises will make a change.
In a year that lacks a clear-cut, no-brainer, “A” list of replacements, could Cignetti become a candidate?
One high-level source with a team that could be looking for a new coach opined to PFT on Saturday that Cignetti likely won’t be in play. Another source from a team that likely will be scanning the options at the college level pointed out that a team would need to be fully convicted to the notion of Cignetti as the next coach, if a recommendation will be made to ownership to pay the buyout. And then to pay Cignetti.
Cignetti is currently making $11.6 million per year. Indiana could be bumping him to $13 million or more. He surely wouldn’t leave Indiana for a pay cut in the NFL.
It would be a bold move for an NFL team to make a run at Cignetti. He’s 64. He has never coached at the NFL level. He has two seasons of head-coaching experience in big-time college football.
Still, Cignetti has shown that he knows how to win; he’s 25-2 at Indiana. And NFL owners have money to burn, even if many prefer hoarding it.
If the Raiders are thinking about making Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft, why not think about pairing him with Cignetti? In the 23 seasons since the Raiders appeared in Super Bowl XXXVII, they have had two playoff appearances and no postseason wins. They could do a lot worse than Cignetti, because they have.
With Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman signing a new deal to stay put in South Bend, Cignetti becomes the most intriguing college option in the coming cycle.
