Curt Cignetti Responds to NFL HC Rumors Ahead of Indiana vs. Miami CFB Playoff Championship

In news that will be music to the ears of Indiana fans everywhere, Curt Cignetti has no interest in going to the NFL.

During the College Football Playoff Championship Game media event on Saturday, Cignetti explained he is "not an NFL guy" when asked if he would ever consider a job at the professional level.

Even though the appeal of competing at the highest level is strong for many coaches, Cignetti is a king in college football right now with a 26-2 record in two seasons at Indiana.

There is also a history of top college coaches falling flat in the NFL, including Nick Saban, Chip Kelly, Urban Meyer and Bobby Petrino.

There has been no indication that Cignetti is seeking out an NFL job, but his success in two years at Indiana has led analysts to speculate that he could be good at the next level.

ESPN analyst Marcus Spears recently said on NFL Live that Cignetti's personality would fit well with the Pittsburgh Steelers after Mike Tomlin stepped down.

CBS Sports' Brad Crawford connected Cignetti to the Las Vegas Raiders, particularly with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza being the presumptive favorite to end up in Vegas as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft if he declares.

Saban, who had Cignetti on his Alabama staff from 2007 to '10, said on the Jan. 7 episode of The Pat McAfee Show that he has never had a conversation with his former assistant about going to the NFL.

"I've never talked to Curt about the NFL, I don't really know that he has interest in doing that," Saban said (h/t The Athletic's Chris Vannini). "It is a fairly difficult transition to go from college to the NFL if you've never been in the NFL before. When I took the Dolphins job, I'd been in the NFL for six years, so I understood it."

ESPN's Adam Schefter also told McAfee that there has been no word about Cignetti going to the NFL:

Dallas Mavericks minority owner and Indiana alum Mark Cuban told The Athletic's Nick Friedell that Cignetti's immediate success with the Hoosiers is unlike anything he has seen in sports:

"He literally has turned the concept of 'Blue Blood' programs on its head. Cig's line of 'production over potential' says it all. Some people might not like this analogy, but it's far more like building a professional organization, but with limits on how long a player can stay. There is nothing like it anywhere. Coach, [IU athletic director] Scott Dolson and their staff have figured it out."

Cignetti has no previous experience at the NFL level as a coach or player. He wasn't drafted or signed after playing at West Virginia, so he went right into coaching at the college level as a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh.

Since becoming a head coach in 2011 when he was hired at IUP, Cignetti owns a 145-37 overall record. He is one win away from leading the Hoosiers to the first national title in program history.