Why wasn't Curt Cignetti hired by a blue blood? 'Biggest f-up ever'
As Indiana prepares to face Miami for the national championship, the story of head coach Curt Cignetti’s arrival has become one of the most compelling narratives in college football. It raises a provocative question: if Cignetti was this transformative, why did it take until age 62 for a power conference program to hire him?
Cignetti’s pre-Indiana résumé was undeniably stellar: a 119-36 career record across IUP, Elon, and James Madison. Yet, when he guided James Madison to a 10-0 start in 2023, his name was not a hot commodity on the coaching carousel. Multiple industry sources and administrators cited reasons that, at the time, seemed prudent.
First, his FBS sample size was small—just two seasons at James Madison. Second, the program’s sustained success made it difficult to isolate the coach’s individual impact, especially after his predecessor struggled at East Carolina. Third, Cignetti’s personality in interviews was described by one administrator as awkward and intense, lacking the dynamic presence many athletic directors seek to rally fans and donors. “He comes across kind of like a serial killer,” the official noted.
The broader hiring landscape also worked against him. Amid the chaotic early years of NIL and the transfer portal, there was significant skepticism that a coach from the Group of Five could manage roster construction at a power conference level. Cignetti himself was selective, uninterested in a marginal step up. What changed his calculus was the Big Ten’s new media deal, promising member schools roughly $70 million annually. He recognized that even a historically struggling program like Indiana could outspend most of college football overnight.
For Indiana, the risk was minimal. Hiring Cignetti was a low-cost, high-upside gamble—if he failed, he’d be just another in a long line of unsuccessful coaches. But if he succeeded, he could change everything. The alignment was perfect: a coach with a proven winning formula but nothing to lose, and a program with newfound resources and zero expectations.
Now, as the Hoosiers stand one win from a historic title, every athletic director who passed on Cignetti is left to ponder the “biggest f-up ever.” His story underscores the inherent volatility of coaching hires and how conventional wisdom can blind even the most experienced administrators to a perfect match hiding in plain sight.
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