Curt Cignetti Carries Serious Demeanor But Still Enjoying Indiana's Historic Run

Indiana's coach often looks upset when the TV camera pans to him on the sideline. But on the inside, he's taken pleasure in the Hoosiers' undefeated season and pursuit of a national championship.

Indiana Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti during the Big Ten championship against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If Curt Cignetti's facial expressions on the sideline were the only indication, you wouldn't think Indiana was the nation's No. 1 team beating historic powerhouse Alabama 38-3 at the Rose Bowl.

Cignetti's signature scowl represents a never-satisfied mindset he implemented at Indiana on day one, when perhaps only he and the Indiana staff thought a 25-2 record in his first two seasons was possible. It also drives his players, many of whom were overlooked out of high school or in the transfer portal, but have proven stars and rankings don't tell the whole story.

There's been time for celebration during Indiana's 14-0 season, though Cignetti is rarely seen smiling until after the game. And with each win, Cignetti knows he must keep his team hungry and avoid complacency. That's why it might seem like Cignetti is often upset, or hasn't taken enough time to bask in one of the sport's greatest turnarounds of all time.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti on the sideline against UCLA at Memorial Stadium. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-TImes / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

But as it turns out, he's enjoying the ride. He's just not ready for it to be over. Asked Thursday whether a former player's description of him being never satisfied and never happy was accurate, Cignetti gave a long answer about his demeanor and mentality as a coach.

"I think you gotta put that in context. And you're talking about on the practice field and when you're evaluating tape and your peformance in terms of standards, right. Because I do firmly believe you get better, you get worse, you never stay the same, right. And so you gotta keep that edge."

"No, that's not right. There's a lot of times I am happy. I just don't show I'm happy. And if I'm gonna ask my players to play the first game, first play, to play 150 [snaps] the same regardless of the competitive circumstances, then I can't be seen on the sideline high-fiving people and celebrating, or what's gonna happen? What's the effect gonna be, right?"

"So that's why I am like I am during the game. Plus, I gotta make important decisions and manage the game. These decisions we have to make in terms of game management, when to use a timeout, when not to use a timeout, whether to be aggressive in two-minute, right. I had to use a timeout on defense that I called against Alabama on 4th and 1, and it ended up being a pretty big sequence. So you gotta be dialed in and thinking ahead, you know."

The many faces of Curt Cignetti pic.twitter.com/GZisHT5N7E

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"I'll smile and celebrate later in the coaches room with the coaches, maybe have a beer. Of course in the playoffs, you gotta do nine or 10 different press conferences after the game. So that's about an hour and a half later. People ask, do you ever get to enjoy this? And last week I asked [Indiana media relations director] Jeff Keag, I said, 'We just won the game, and I got 10 press conferences I gotta do after the game. When am I gonna enjoy this?' So no, I do smile. And I am happy –– at times."

So don't expect Cignetti to smile much as the Hoosiers take on No. 5 Oregon Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Ga. That'll have to wait until postgame, as long as Indiana punches its ticket to the national championship game and continues its historic run.

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