MIAMI — IU football coach Curt Cignetti has been tied to virtually every major college and pro football job opening over the last year.
And the two jobs many believed he might be interested in have opened up in the last few months.
A native of Pennsylvania, Cignetti likely could have had the Penn State job when James Franklin was fired earlier this year.
But Indiana moved quickly and re-signed Cignetti to a new contract that ensures he and his assistants will remain among the highest paid staff in college football.
But what about the NFL?
If there’s one job that might cause some sleepless nights for IU fans, it would be Cignetti’s hometown Pittsburgh Steelers.
Indiana has even modeled some aspects of the Cignetti orchestrated turnaround of the football program after the Steelers, including the now wildly popular towels the fans swirl during games.
Long-time Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stepped down earlier this week creating the opening in Pittsburgh at a time when Cignetti is at the height of his attractiveness as a candidate. He was asked Saturday in Miami about his interest in becoming a head coach at the professional level.
“I’m not an NFL guy. I made that decision a long time ago. I’ve always been a college football guy,” Cignetti said Saturday in Miami.
That’s a big relief for Indiana fans. But it shouldn’t be a major surprise.
Cignetti’s father was a college football coach, and he has spent his entire life around the college game. Cignetti also saw legendary college coach Nick Saban struggle at the NFL level, and Cignetti has modeled a meaningful part of his coaching style after Saban.
Cignetti leads No. 1 Indiana (15-0) against No. 10 Miami (13-2) Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET in Miami Gardens, Fla. (ESPN).
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