After undergoing a mountain of AP top-10 losses (4-21 to be precise) and failing against UCLA, chants of “Fire Franklin” are rising. And in the ‘whiteout city,’ fan opinion reigns supreme. A new coach with a winning history won’t guarantee instant victories, but it can shift the discourse. So, how about hiring a different head coach altogether? Maybe someone who says “I win, Google me” in inaugural press conferences?

And that can surely start with employing Curt Cignetti, famous for his one-liners. Not to mention, the guy wins. Nick Cellini and Chris Dimino, in their latest ‘680 The Fan’ podcast episode, talked about how Curt Cignetti could be a great fit for the Nittany Lions. For them, Cignetti’s Pennsylvania connections, having been born there, encourage the case even more. “He’s a Pittsburgh guy. He’s got that swagger, that Pennsylvania swagger. I don’t know what his buyout is, but I would think that the Penn State crowd would love a guy from the state of Pennsylvania who wins in Curt Cignetti,” said Cellini.

Right from making it to the playoffs in just his first season, and still trending towards it (5-0 record). To tout the SEC’s non-conference slate when questioned about his team. Curt Cignetti, 64, has made his career by winning the fans, and of course, accumulating a 16-2 record at Indiana. To make things even more favorable, his buyout is just $13 million, reportedly, and will decrease significantly come December. And his on-field record is just the tip of the iceberg.

Also, not to forget, Cignetti’s approach is different from Franklin’s, and that’s exactly what the program needs right now. “Is he older than you would like? Maybe. Is he villainous enough and doing enough that he’s captured the attention of people who would go? He’s not James Franklin, and we want something that’s not James Franklin,” said Dimino. Curt Cignetti undoubtedly has achieved mastery in PR, something that Penn State needs desperately.

The only thing that can become a hurdle is Franklin’s buyout. James Franklin takes home a whopping $8.5 million every year and has his contract running till 2031. That complicates things slightly since it comes with a whopping $48 million in buyout money. But if Stanford can get $50 million from an ‘anonymous’ donor, then Penn State, one of the big sharks in the CFB’s sea, must have the resources to navigate it.

Will Curt Cignetti leave Indiana for James Franklin’s Penn State?

Indiana was never a football program and never aspired to be. But no matter how popular basketball became, the big money, at least in the NCAA, remained in football. Cignetti’s arrival, in that sense, changed the program altogether. Right from Indiana’s collective ‘Hoosiers Connect’ raising six times more money than usual, to a recruiting resurgence (30th-ranked in 2026 class). Everything fell perfectly for the Hoosiers. So, if Cignetti arrives at Penn State, it would be a far less challenging task for him than at Indiana.

“There’s a certain point where I go, ‘No, that ain’t good enough.’ And my fan base is voting with my wallet. You don’t want to do something to just appease the fans, but you have to do something different because people aren’t buying what you’re selling quite as much anymore,” said Dimino. Curt Cignetti’s arrival at Penn State with its massive resources can be what the Nittany Lions have always needed.

Of course, all of this depends on Cignetti’s interest, and by the looks of it, he’s happy in Bloomington. “I love Bloomington and am grateful for how the IU community has embraced us,” said Cignetti after renewing his contract last year. That contract currently pays him a whopping $8 million per year with a total value of $72 million. So, it’s hard to predict for now, at least, Cignetti will leave a successful program with that kind of money already coming on his table.