After winning a national title last season and having the Indiana Hoosiers off to a 5-0 start this season, the NFL takes are starting to arrive for head coach Curt Cignetti. If the Hoosiers reach the College Football Playoff again, the speculation about a move to the pros could get louder.
Amid the New York Jets‘ 1-3 start to the 2026 NFL season, head coach Aaron Glenn looks to be on the hot seat and if this situation goes off the rails, he might not make it to the end of the season.
Nonetheless, WFAN’s Craig Carton believes it’s time for a change, and the right man for the Jets is Cignetti. Moreover, Carton notes that Jets owner Woody Johnson should hand the Indiana head coach a blank check to get him to leave college for the Big Apple.
“I don’t think he’s gettable, but I would do everything in my power to get him and I’m not going to say Mike Tomlin either,” Carton said in an Oct. 5 video from WFAN.
“Curt Cignetti. I want to go to Indiana. I want to back up the Johnson & Johnson Brinks truck, and I want to tell Curt Cignetti, ‘It’s your franchise. You tell me what you want, you tell me what you need.’ I happen to like [Darren] Mougey. I’d like to keep him as GM. But if you don’t want him, I got no problem with that.”
Could Potential College Sports Act Entice Curt Cignetti to Leave?
Moreover, Carton points to the Protect College Sports Act, which passed the U.S. Senate by a bipartisan 77-22 vote on Sept. 28, as another reason Cignetti could be open to a move to the NFL.
The legislation would establish a federal framework for college athletics, including rules governing NIL agreements and athlete compensation, while addressing the rising spending across college sports. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where its future remains uncertain.
“When this College Act passes, the playing field changes again in college football,” Carton added. “Can’t just outspend everybody to get the best talent or the best quarterback every single year. If Curt Cignetti would ever consider leaving Indiana for the Jets, which, by the way, may not be a job he’d want, that’s the guy I would call and bring in here to change things for the better.”
Indiana HC Curt Cignetti Among Highest-Paid in College Football
Grabbing Cignetti for any NFL team would be a major challenge, as earlier this year ESPN reported, citing sources, that he finalized a contract with Indiana that will pay him an average of $13.2 million through the 2033 season.
Cignetti’s $13.2 million annual salary puts him in the same company as Georgia’s Kirby Smart and new LSU coach Lane Kiffin, making them the only coaches in the country earning at least $13 million per year. His contract has been revised three times in two seasons after he arrived in late 2023 on a six-year, $27 million deal.
As a result, with the control that he has at Indiana and the salary, it’s hard to see Cignetti giving that up for the NFL, especially for a team like the Jets.
Jets Get Strong Message on Indiana HC Curt Cignetti Amid 1-3 Start