“It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me.”
What began as a blunt answer in a grumpy, sleep-deprived head coach’s first signing day press conference in his new role spread like wildfire in 2024, catching the attention of even college football’s most casual observers. Who was this guy?
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Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti doesn’t need viral quotes to enter the public consciousness anymore. All he needs is the presence of the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy, among several others, in the Hoosiers’ facilities to let his name and achievements be known.
Cignetti took one of the losingest programs in the history of the sport to its mountaintop in just two years of time. It’s an unprecedented rise to glory in the history of college football if not major intercollegiate athletics itself. But he hasn’t done so without his doubters.
Cignetti ranked in at No. 21 in last year’s rankings of the best head coaches in power conference college football despite having led Indiana to an 11-2 finish in his debut season, finishing behind the likes of Louisville’s Jeff Brohm, USC’s Lincoln Riley, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin, LSU’s Brian Kelly and Penn State’s James Franklin, among others. It’s a respectable ranking, probably fair given context. But Cignetti was far from done.
In the wake of the Hoosiers’ national championship, Cignetti shot all the way up to No. 1 in this year’s edition of the rankings.
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Cignetti will look to play title defense next season with a reloaded roster.
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