Curt Cignetti is officially a college football national champion, but could he soon be an NFL head coach?
The 64-year-old Indiana Hoosiers coach is now responsible for what is arguably the biggest turnaround in the history of sports. Cignetti took over the historically bad Indiana Hoosiers football program in 2024 and two years later, has built them into a national champion. Indiana topped Miami, 27-21, on Monday night, capping a 16-0 season.
Cignetti said Indiana's win signals a "paradigm shift" to the entire sport.
"People can cling to an old way of thinking, categorizing teams as this or that or conferences as this or that," Cignetti said postgame, "or they can adjust to the new world, the shift in the power dynamic in college football today."
Indiana became college football's first first-time national champion in 29 years on Monday night.
© Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.
But could an NFL franchise soon come calling?
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio thinks it's possible.
"Owners are looking for quick fixes. Has there ever been a quicker fix than what Cignetti did in Bloomington?" he wrote.
"It won’t be cheap, either to buy out his contract ($15 million) or to hire him. He’s in line to get upward of $13 million per year in a place where he’ll likely be able to stay as long as he wants. Although it’s far from easy to keep winning national championships, the money is there to be consistently competitive (thanks in part to alumni like Mark Cuban)."
6 NFL teams currently have openings
There are currently six NFL teams without a head coach:
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cleveland Browns
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Arizona Cardinals
- Buffalo Bills
Where do you see Cignetti landing?
The Steelers would be the most fun. Cignetti is a Pennsylvania native and the Steelers are a historic franchise.
The Raiders, too, could make sense as a package deal. Las Vegas has the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and is expected to take Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza.
It's most likely that Cignetti will remain at Indiana, but it wouldn't be surprising if the NFL comes calling.