If there’s one down side to the Curt Cignetti era at Indiana, it would be that it’s likely going to be a relatively short run.
Cignetti becomes a senior citizen in less than two months. His 65th birthday is on June 2.
And that leaves an obvious question.
How much longer will Cignetti coach football?
After achieving the ultimate goal for a college coach in January, the thought of retirement entered Cignetti’s mind, even if he knows he’s not ready for it.
“If I was smart, I’d probably retire,” Cignetti said at the national championship postgame press conference in Miami. “Then I’d really be a story. But we need the money. And what would I do? What would I do?”
Cignetti has said often he believes he was born to coach football. It’s in his blood. It’s all he knows. So as long as he’s got the energy to do anything, he’ll be a ball coach.
But will that be another five years? Another 10 years? More?
Cignetti drew inspiration from a former player last season when 44-year-old Philip Rivers played quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. Rivers and Cignetti were together for four years at N.C. State, and Cignetti became the quarterbacks coach in 2003, Rivers’ senior year. That was the best year of Rivers’ college career. He led the NCAA in passer rating (170.5) and completion percentage (72%). He also led the ACC in passing attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns.
Rivers retired from the NFL following the 2020 season, but made the comeback at 44 in 2025, playing in three games for the Colts.
Cignetti had been hearing from Rivers, as the Hoosiers stacked wins in 2025. And then suddenly Rivers was playing an hour up the road for the Colts.
The IU head coach says he had to question his own timeline when he saw the father of 10 and high school head coach do the unthinkable and return to the NFL at 44.
“Well what was amazing is that he (Rivers) was texting me after every win,” Cignetti said Wednesday on BTN. “And then the following week he’s starting at quarterback and played really well. Nothing he does amazes me. To see him playing quarterback in his mid-40s kinda made me think maybe I can go until about 75.”
In a separate interview Wednesday with On3, Cignetti specifically mentioned an 8-year window to keep coaching, but that timeframe appears to be tied to the length of his latest contract, which runs through 2033.
No one knows for sure how much longer Cignetti will go. He probably doesn’t really know at this point. But he didn’t arrive in Bloomington as a young head coach. Another decade might be the most you can hope for.
All Indiana fans can do is savor every moment, and hope Cignetti keeps finding inspiration from afar.
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