Penn State’s Athletic Director Pat Kraft cited the need for a “championship mindset” after firing James Franklin. Curt Cignetti at Indiana is doing just that as the team is 9-0 this season. The rumors, then, about Cignetti and Penn State are surely inevitable. With that dynamic playing out, Cignetti didn’t hold back when asked about Franklin and Penn State.

Indiana is set to face Penn State at Beaver Stadium on 8th November. It’s a game that, by the looks of it, seems to be in favor of Cignetti. Why? Penn State is on a 5-game losing streak, despite the interim head coach Terry Smith taking the reins. Not to mention, Indiana is currently in the elite bracket, as Fernando Mendoza is bolstering his Heisman odds. However, Cignetti remained cautious. But sympathised with James Franklin.

“Obviously, James Franklin was fifth in the country last year, was about 105 and 40 after 11 years. Did a tremendous job. Has always represented himself with class. A lot of respect for him. And Penn State? Always had a lot of respect for Penn State, too,” said Cignetti in a recent press conference. The statement shows that Cignetti understands the ‘tough’ nature of the Penn State job.

Of course, Franklin didn’t win any favors with his 4-21 record against AP Top-10 opponents. But the head coach was still the one consistently producing top-15 recruiting classes. Just this year, Franklin had a 13th-ranked class. Whereas, a year before that, it was ranked 15th and 14th in 2023. That surely doesn’t ease the case against Franklin at Penn State. But just goes out to show the unpredictable nature of college football now.

Not to mention that Garrett Nussmeier, his ace QB, had persistent injury issues. Moreover, despite getting the highest-paid DC in Jim Knowles, the team still had moments of lapse in secondary. But at the end of the day, winning is what matters. So, when that didn’t happen? Penn State got rid of him, despite a whopping $49 million buyout.

Meanwhile, Cignetti is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and also started his coaching career in Pittsburgh as a graduate assistant. Not to mention that Penn State will lay out every resource for Cignetti to succeed, given its financial capabilities. But then, we are also living in a time where one crucial question has become fairly valid. Is Penn State’s job even better than Indiana’s today?

Is Curt Cignetti to Penn State on the back burner?

It depends on various analytics. For one, the atmosphere at Beaver Stadium is one of the most iconic things in college football. That whiteout environment has even put nerves on legends like Urban Meyer before playing there. The next thing is, of course, who’s willing to pay those big bucks. Here, Indiana, though, isn’t lagging, since the team just handed out a $93 million contract to Cignetti.

That’s $11.6 million per year, making Cignetti just shy of Ryan Day’s $12.5 million and Kirby Smart’s $13 million. Moreover, most importantly, Indiana has made it clear to keep its 20-2 record head coach. “We didn’t come this far to only come this far. He’s Priority 1, and then it’s retaining our staff, and it’s having the resources to build a roster,” said Hoosier’s AD Scott Dolson. Does that make Penn State’s move unlikely for Cignetti?

For now, the Curt Cignetti and Penn State saga seems like ancient history. But come December or January, 2026(which is quite likely), anything can happen. For one, Cignetti’s buyout, which was $10 million earlier, is $15 million now. For Penn State, paying that would be fairly easy. The 64-year-old’s move to Penn State can be on the cards then. But will Cignetti do it, considering his family lives in Bloomington and is enjoying the time?

“He loves football and he loves his family, and that’s his whole life. Being in an environment that they enjoy, and it’s super important, and I feel really good about that,” said AD Scott Dolson. Indiana is a rising program while Penn State is an established blueblood, despite recent struggles. The relatively low nature of the buyout for Cignetti points to an Urban Meyer-esque switch to Penn State.