$93 million head coach named No. 1 coach in college football

Just over a week has passed since the end of the 2025 college football season. A seven-month hiatus separates the first weekend of the 2026 college football season from the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

The first month following the end of each season is a time of reflection for college football media outlets about the action they have just witnessed. This can include examining predictions made prior to the season, as well as reviewing individual performances from some of the best players across college football.

Pro Football Focus broke down who it believes is the best coach in college football. It gave that title to Indiana national champion head coach Curt Cignetti on Monday.

Is Curt Cignetti the Best Head Coach in College Football? pic.twitter.com/xaP241hezb
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 26, 2026

"No coach in college football is capable of what Curt Cignetti just accomplished," said Max Chadwick. "He's the new best coach in the country."

Cignetti's climb to the top of the head coaching ranks is over four decades in the making. Over the first two decades of his ascent, Cignetti made stops at Davidson, Rice, Temple, Pittsburgh and NC State, primarily working as a quarterbacks coach at those stops.

The last and perhaps most notable stop in Cignetti's journey as an assistant coach was his time with Nick Saban at Alabama. Saban hired Cignetti to his first Alabama staff in 2007 as a wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, a role Cignetti served in until 2010.

The first step in Cignetti's head coaching journey was at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the school where his father, Frank Cignetti Sr., played, held the athletics director position, and was the head coach for 20 years. Cignetti served as head coach for the Crimson Hawks for six seasons, amassing a 53-17 record over that period.

Cignetti made his way into the FCS ranks in 2017 when he took the head coaching job at Elon. He held the post for two seasons before becoming the head coach at fellow CAA member James Madison. He guided the Dukes to a 52-9 overall record in five seasons, assisting them in their transition from FCS to FBS.

Indiana hired Cignetti as Tom Allen's successor in the 2024 offseason. He wasted no time guiding the Hoosiers to an 11-win season and a College Football Playoff berth, a feat that had never been accomplished in the previous 136 years of program history.

Cignetti became the first coach to lead a team to a national championship with a perfect record since the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams. Oregon was unbeaten going into the 2024 College Football Playoff but fell in the Rose Bowl to Ohio State.

Curt Cignetti after the College Football Playoff National Championship. — Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti smiles as he is interviewed after the College Football Playoff National Championship game | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images