$56.7 million college football coach strongly turns down potential NFL move

The NFL head coaching carousel has begun to spin in the weeks after the end of the 2025 regular season.

Both the Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants decided to part ways with their head coaches in the middle of the regular season.

Teams to part ways with their head coaches in the week after the regular season include the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals. The Pittsburgh Steelers joined the group when Mike Tomlin resigned following their playoff elimination.

So far, the New York Giants' hiring of John Harbaugh is the only hiring by any team in search of a new coach for 2026. Coaches like Harbaugh, who have held head coaching positions in the league, are more sought after in the 2026 cycle than first-time head-coach candidates.

Every NFL coaching carousel has at least some mention of ascending coaches in the college ranks. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has been mentioned as a potential hire for the Giants' and Steelers' vacancies. Another name that has been loosely discussed as a candidate for NFL head coaching openings is Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti.

Cignetti was asked about the idea of potentially taking an NFL job in the future ahead of the 2025 College Football Playoff national championship game by Brett McMurphy of On3.

Indiana HC Curt Cignetti on if he’d consider an NFL job, via @Brett_McMurphy:

“I’m not an NFL guy. I made that decision a long time ago. I've always been a college football guy." pic.twitter.com/26QisJvUKJ
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) January 17, 2026

"I'm not an NFL guy. I made that decision a long time ago," Cignetti said. "I've always been a college football guy."

The jump from the college football ranks to the NFL is a challenging one for head coaches. Jim Harbaugh has successfully guided the Los Angeles Chargers to consecutive playoff appearances in the two years since he led Michigan to a national championship. However, coaches like Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier have tried their hands at the NFL and gone back to college after unsuccessful stints.

Cignetti's last stop as a college football assistant was on Saban's first staff at Alabama following his failed tenure with the Miami Dolphins. He served as the Crimson Tide's wide receivers coach up until 2010.

Prior to his arrival at Indiana, Cignetti worked his way up the head coaching ranks with stops at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Elon and James Madison. He accumulated a 119-35 overall record at those three programs.

Cignetti guided the Hoosiers to their first-ever 11-win season and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024. No. 1 Indiana (15-0, 9-0) will face No. 10 Miami (13-2, 6-2) in the 2025 College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida (7:30 p.m. EST, ESPN).