With James Franklin getting fired by Penn State football, everyone knows that Pat Kraft is going to swing for the fences in terms of his next hire. At the very top of the list for many was Indiana head man Curt Cignetti, as he's working his magic with the No. 3 Hoosiers.
Urban Meyer pitches worst James Franklin replacement possible for Penn State
Instead, here we are in mid October and we can already rule out him making the move from one Big Ten side to the other. With Cignetti and Penn State rumors flying, Indiana has given him a brand new deal. According to multiple reports, Cignetti will be with Indiana through the 2033 campaign and he'll be taking home $11.6 million per season. Wow:
New contract for Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti. He’ll make 11.6 million per year. Contract runs through 2033. pic.twitter.com/zTfyJIUs3W
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) October 16, 2025
Indiana has signed Curt Cignetti to a massive new deal worth $11.6 million per season
Think the Indiana administration and alumni saw all the reports that Penn State was ready to go all-in to land Cignetti? You bet. What Cignetti is doing with the Hoosiers can't be overlooked. Indiana was once a laughingstock, but now they're fully in the national title hunt.
As of this writing, the Hoosiers have one foot in for the College Football Playoff, as the recent win over Oregon was one of the biggest Ws in program history. Cignetti has completely turned around the culture and recruits are taking notice too.
Looking ahead to the future, Indiana wants to make sure the football team continues to be among the best of the best in the Big Ten. This is what Penn State wants too, which is why Franklin was fired and the expectation was that Cignetti and Matt Rhule were going to be the top targets.
The thought of Cignetti taking over for the Nittany Lions was something that got the fanbase excited, but we now know it's not going to happen. Things also aren't looking great in terms of trying to convince Rhule to make a leap too. Kraft's job in finding a home-run replacement for Franklin just got even more difficult.