Overview

• Penn State fired James Franklin over the weekend and has begun a high-profile coaching search, with no public indication of formal outreach or an offer to Cignetti.
• Cignetti is 17-2 at Indiana with a College Football Playoff berth last season and a current No. 3 ranking after a 30-20 win at Oregon.
• FOX analyst Joel Klatt urged Penn State to call Cignetti and called him the hottest name in the sport, while ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said Cignetti should consider the job if offered.
• Cignetti’s Indiana contract runs through 2032 and includes steep liquidated damages—$13 million if he resigns before Dec. 1, then $10 million the following year—plus more than $8 million annually, a $1 million retention bonus, and an approximately $11 million staff pool.
• It is common for a hiring school to cover a coach’s buyout, and Indiana previously paid the $1.2 million Cignetti owed James Madison when it hired him in 2023.