Indiana Hoosiers football coach Curt Cignetti may make surprising decision on Penn State Nittany Lions job

Indiana Hoosiers football coach Curt Cignetti may make surprising decision on Penn State Nittany Lions job originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

football coach Curt Cignetti isn’t a lock to leave for a bigger job with the way his team is playing. Of course, that statement is null and void if IU isn’t willing to spend big to continue the growth of Cignetti’s program.

Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde believes Cignetti wouldn’t immediately jump at the chance to replace a fired James Franklin with the . Franklin was fired on Sunday following a 0-3 start in Big Ten play.

“As for Penn State? The first call has to go to Curt Cignetti (5), whose 17–2 record at Indiana is on the short list of the greatest coaching jobs The Dash has ever seen. Cignetti and Indiana have been a great fit and are good for each other, but he has roots in the state of Pennsylvania and it would be hard not to listen when (not if) the Nittany Lions call,” Forde wrote.

“But Cig might also feel some loyalty to the program that finally gave him his power-conference shot at age 62. This much is sure: Phones are ringing among Indiana administrators and donors right now to circle the wagons around their savior.”

IU may have to reallocate resources from the basketball program to keep Cignetti. After the Mike Woodson era, Darian DeVries may have to prove himself, since Cignetti is currently coaching college football’s hottest coaching candidate for any Power 4 contender in need of new leadership.

IU’s 30-20 win over the Oregon Ducks in Eugene solidified the Hoosiers as the clear No. 2 team in the Big Ten. Until further notice, the own that title. Even after giving up double-digit points for the first time all year in a 34-16 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini in Champaign.

Cignetti is the hottest candidate on the market. If the Virginia Tech Hokies offer a big contract, especially after announcing intentions to add $229 million to its athletics budget over the next four years, it’s on Indiana to not let its greatest football coach go to Blacksburg. They may be a greater threat than Penn State, given Franklin’s hefty buyout.

Cignetti is Hoosier football. Let him get away, and the next guy won’t come close.