Curt Cignetti’s Contract

[Dano564]

It's hard to know what coaches are doing behind their contracts.

If Cignetti was offered, hey, instead of paying you $7,000,000 a year, we'll pay you about half of that, and throw the other half at assistants and players.

You don't need a $7 million dollar coach if you have $7 million in NIL.

Also, isn't the rumor Mark Cuban (Indiana grad) is assisting in funding the football turnaround at Indiana?

 

[MNVCGUY]

Vandy is another great story if you can’t bring yourself to cheer for Indiana. They get Texas next and still get LSU and Tennessee. Go Commies!

There are a couple of fun SEC youtube channels - SEC Shorts and Matt Mitchell....they have both been having a blast with Vandy this year.

 

[Ski-U-Ham]

Vandy is another great story if you can’t bring yourself to cheer for Indiana. They get Texas next and still get LSU and Tennessee. Go Commies!

 

[FredCoxRocks]

I'd be surprised if FSU hired a 64 year old head coach.

They should, though. Cignetti is a great coach

Wasn't Bobby Bowden, like, 105 when he coached there?

 

[Dave H]

This may be a silly question but how is anyone deriving “strength of schedule” (in a relevant, meaningful, or accurate way) halfway through a season roughly half of which were non-con cupcakes.

Indiana is an awesome overnight rags to riches story (yeah yeah, so far) and epitomizes why some of us even bother watching sports and particularly MN fans since this what we live for and hope to see. I hope they go 12-0. Nothing would make me happier as a fan of sports, scrappy athletes, and (some) coaches than to see Indiana go undefeated and do it in the right way in contrast to a certain Big Ten program. I don’t know much about Cignetti but I don’t see him as an asshat like Prime, or the team and fans entitled a-holes like the Wolverines or Buckeyes. I doubt the players are mercenaries to the extent of places like Mich, OSU, CO. Chances are the clock strikes midnight somewhere along the way but I don’t understand some of the comments here. This is their 2019. Try to enjoy the drama.

Again, maybe I missed it or early on but who is saying otherwise.? If they win out no one is going to be upset about it but why are some people so upset when we call a spade a spade? We do the same for our own team. (often in harsher ways)

All you can do as a team is win the games you play, they should and do get credit for that. Saying that schedule isn't lighting the world on fire just adds context. No one seems to be spitting on Indiana because they played a "lesser" schedule just saying anointing them might be a bit off base. They deserve tons of accolades as does their coach but there are always caveats...

 

[Zeppelin Gopher]

Wasn't Bobby Bowden, like, 105 when he coached there?

Sure but they hired him at 47

 

[Pompous Elitist]

Again, maybe I missed it or early on but who is saying otherwise.? If they win out no one is going to be upset about it but why are some people so upset when we call a spade a spade? We do the same for our own team. (often in harsher ways)

All you can do as a team is win the games you play, they should and do get credit for that. Saying that schedule isn't lighting the world on fire just adds context. No one seems to be spitting on Indiana because they played a "lesser" schedule just saying anointing them might be a bit off base. They deserve tons of accolades as does their coach but there are always caveats...

It’s possible there were a bunch of doubters on here in 2019 but I don’t recall it that way after the team destroyed Nebraska and Rutgers.

Indiana has not only scored 40+ in every game except game 1 but hung 77 on one (a patsy, sure, but it’s INDIANA) so I can see how the fans there are going ape**** over the team’s performance thus far. If the Gophers had been destroying every team by 2+ scores in every game I think we’d be pretty enthusiastic even if we hadn’t played anybody.

 

[MNVCGUY]

It’s possible there were a bunch of doubters on here in 2019 but I don’t recall it that way after the team destroyed Nebraska and Rutgers.

Indiana has not only scored 40+ in every game except game 1 but hung 77 on one (a patsy, sure, but it’s INDIANA) so I can see how the fans there are going ape**** over the team’s performance thus far. If the Gophers had been destroying every team by 2+ scores in every game I think we’d be pretty enthusiastic even if we hadn’t played anybody.

I get why Indiana fans are excited.....I don't quite get why some Gopher fans are so butt hurt over other Gopher fans not going gaga over what Indiana has done so far this year

 

[Dave H]

It’s possible there were a bunch of doubters on here in 2019 but I don’t recall it that way after the team destroyed Nebraska and Rutgers.

Indiana has not only scored 40+ in every game except game 1 but hung 77 on one (a patsy, sure, but it’s INDIANA) so I can see how the fans there are going ape**** over the team’s performance thus far. If the Gophers had been destroying every team by 2+ scores in every game I think we’d be pretty enthusiastic even if we hadn’t played anybody.

Yes we would be...and I would assume they are and they should be. I don't see how us saying "its impressive but they still have things to prove" is any issue. Do you think they might have said that in 2019 before we beat Penn State?

And if you don't remember doubters around here in 2019 you might have some memory fog. Until we beat Penn State the usual suspects were saying the same stuff they are saying now. And I was fine with it then because nothing they said was untrue.

Let me ask you...do you think people will look at the USC win differently when USC finishes outside of the Top 25 after the season? I will bet money they do and I would argue there is nothing wrong with that. The win was still awesome because at the time things were different...but the whole season does matter in context.

 

[60's Guy]

Wasn't Bobby Bowden, like, 105 when he coached there?

It only seemed like it, I guess, He barely made it to his 80th birthday coaching. Retired and lived to be 91.
Medical advancements...Cignetti has 30 years left...easy.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

I get why Indiana fans are excited.....I don't quite get why some Gopher fans are so butt hurt over other Gopher fans not going gaga over what Indiana has done so far this year

I don’t see anyone that’s butthurt. Perfectly valid to point out they didn’t play Oregon, Ohio State, or Penn State to start off the season. I’m actually more amused that some of you are clealry irritated Cignetti is getting national attention - that we would clearly like to have again. Tearing down Indiana doesn’t elevate MN or Fleck. It’s just a fun story while it lasts. MN can also make some national noise down the stretch.

 

[WoodburyTim]

I get why Indiana fans are excited.....I don't quite get why some Gopher fans are so butt hurt over other Gopher fans not going gaga over what Indiana has done so far this year

If other Gopher fans know about other teams and have the ability to recognize a good football story why not just stay out of the thread? Let the adults have a conversation.

 

[WoodburyTim]

I don’t see anyone that’s butthurt. Perfectly valid to point out they didn’t play Oregon, Ohio State, or Penn State to start off the season. I’m actually more amused that some of you are clealry irritated Cignetti is getting national attention - that we would clearly like to have again. Tearing down Indiana doesn’t elevate MN or Fleck. It’s just a fun story while it lasts. MN can also make some national noise down the stretch.

I agree. I remember in 2019, some of the Iowa and a Sconny fans I know said you guys got a really good team and PJ has a done a great job and the Gophers are a fun team to root for. But a few gave the well they’ll fall apart or haven’t played anyone or “talk to me when you have been to a Big10 championship” or something along those lines. It came off as silly and petty. Same deal here.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I don’t see anyone that’s butthurt. Perfectly valid to point out they didn’t play Oregon, Ohio State, or Penn State to start off the season. I’m actually more amused that some of you are clealry irritated Cignetti is getting national attention - that we would clearly like to have again. Tearing down Indiana doesn’t elevate MN or Fleck. It’s just a fun story while it lasts. MN can also make some national noise down the stretch.

Who is tearing down Indiana? It feels like you and Woodbury want to see people desperate to protect Fleck when what is going on in Indiana has nothing to do with Minnesota and Fleck.

Indiana has a soft schedule this year....but they are playing really well and will likely finish with a great record. Where they fit in terms of the best teams in the country will be determined when they play OSU in Columbus and then potentially in the playoff if they can keep winning and get there.

It's a good story and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. As for Cignetti, the real trick will winning consistently at Indiana.....nobody has been able to do that there, maybe he will be the first.

 

[60's Guy]

Riley might flee back to Oklahoma.

But, if he keeps losing they would likely be happy to slash the buyout. Seems unlikely to me Oklahoma would be the the spot.
I don't know where he goes...I do know this...it has to be hell right now to be Lincoln Riley.
He thinks he is the most elite coach, but the wheels are coming off. He gets paid in that $11 million a year range. Expectations are undefeated National Champions. Last year was woeful too. Right now, they can't beat anybody.
He ain't sleeping much.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

Who is tearing down Indiana? It feels like you and Woodbury want to see people desperate to protect Fleck when what is going on in Indiana has nothing to do with Minnesota and Fleck.

Indiana has a soft schedule this year....but they are playing really well and will likely finish with a great record. Where they fit in terms of the best teams in the country will be determined when they play OSU in Columbus and then potentially in the playoff if they can keep winning and get there.

It's a good story and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. As for Cignetti, the real trick will winning consistently at Indiana.....nobody has been able to do that there, maybe he will be the first.

Look, some have said people were butthurt about people not excited about Indiana or “upset” about bringing up their schedule, while I believe any objective reading of this thread doesn’t really show that’s the case. Strawman. People have stated opinions on one side or the other and both are legitimate. Some people maybe don’t like Cignetti, which is fine. I haven’t seen anything too outrageous said or done by Cignetti as with eg Prime but my mind could be changed with some evidence.

Probably just going to need to agree to disagree here.

 

[Some guy]

Honestly my dream scenario is undefeated Indiana gets left out of big ten title game

I have been cheering for an unbeaten to be left out since expansion was announced. Would be even funnier if it’s indiana

 

[MNVCGUY]

Honestly my dream scenario is undefeated Indiana gets left out of big ten title game

I have been cheering for an unbeaten to be left out since expansion was announced. Would be even funnier if it’s indiana

It would be really interesting to see how the conference would handle a scenario of Oregon, Penn State and Indiana all undefeated but seems unlikely to happen as both Indiana and Penn State still play Ohio State.

That said there is a solid chance we will see a bunch of teams with one conference loss so there still may be some tiebreaker craziness to figure out the title game. Seems unlikely that Oregon will lose any of their remaining games but they do have road trips to Ann Arbor and Madison and a matchup with Illinois. All games they should win but you never know.

 

[Dave H]

If other Gopher fans know about other teams and have the ability to recognize a good football story why not just stay out of the thread? Let the adults have a conversation.

So the conversation can only be "OMG!1!1!1! InDiAnA is da BErST!1!1!"? That is some adulting right there...

The adults are talking...the children are the ones who seem to think that mentioning context is some sort of slight. Giving them props for their wins while also saying they still have something to prove is pretty much the definition of an adult conversation. Most adults understand that two things can be true at the same time.

But hey...cool insult bro.

 

[Dave H]

Look, some have said people were butthurt about people not excited about Indiana or “upset” about bringing up their schedule, while I believe any objective reading of this thread doesn’t really show that’s the case. Strawman. People have stated opinions on one side or the other and both are legitimate. Some people maybe don’t like Cignetti, which is fine. I haven’t seen anything too outrageous said or done by Cignetti as with eg Prime but my mind could be changed with some evidence.

Probably just going to need to agree to disagree here.

I have no opinion of the coach one way or another. Indiana is not a team that moves the needle for me so if they do well and the coach is really good that is fine by me. That doesn't change any of the facts about their record (again awesome) and their schedule. (light so far)

There is a lot of hyperbole going on in here...but I don't think MNVCGUY or myself are saying anything out of turn and we certainly aren't trying to take down Indiana in any way. It isn't like we are saying "Oh sure you may be good now but wait until you play at Columbus you are gonna get smoked!!!" we are just saying "we will know how good they really are based on that game". A good showing against tOSU even in a loss will speak volumes to how good they really are. You define yourself by the best teams you play, it has always been that way. That is why 90% of the conversations of the 2019 season discuss Penn State and Auburn.

 

[Dave H]

Honestly my dream scenario is undefeated Indiana gets left out of big ten title game

I have been cheering for an unbeaten to be left out since expansion was announced. Would be even funnier if it’s indiana

If that happens tOSU might kill their coach as they would lose to 2 of those teams.

The bad press that would the Big Ten would get over screwing Indiana in that scenario would be fun to watch and well deserved.

 

[WoodburyTim]

So the conversation can only be "OMG!1!1!1! InDiAnA is da BErST!1!1!"? That is some adulting right there...

The adults are talking...the children are the ones who seem to think that mentioning context is some sort of slight. Giving them props for their wins while also saying they still have something to prove is pretty much the definition of an adult conversation. Most adults understand that two things can be true at the same time.

But hey...cool insult bro.

Geez Dave, all the exclamation points and capitalized letters made my point better than I ever could. If only the text features allowed for crayon handwriting…

 

[GopherVotary]

New 8-year, $72 million contract. A bargain, if he beats tOSU next week.

 

[PMWinSTP]

New 8-year, $72 million contract. A bargain, if he beats tOSU next week.

In what world is $9M a year a bargain? I guess yours...hope this isn't a lightning in a bottle type of year for Indiana. Certainly won't feel like a bargain if they start to revert back towards their mean. This will be only its 4th winning season in the past 30 years.

 

[Word]

In what world is $9M a year a bargain? I guess yours...hope this isn't a lightning in a bottle type of year for Indiana. Certainly won't feel like a bargain if they start to revert back towards their mean. This will be only its 4th winning season in the past 30 years.

It could be really smart or it could be a Mel Tucker type contract.

 

[GoForGold]

Someone explain the age thing to me. Worried about a cardiovascular event? Age affects different people in hugely different ways. He’s obviously better than some of the idiot 30-somethings we see.

Overall health should be a bigger factor than age in my opinion, as we found out with Jerry Kill. Indiana also had a coach, Terry Hoeppner, who died of cancer after coaching the team for just a couple of seasons. I don't know if they or anyone knew about his health problem when they hired him.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

I enjoy hearing Danny b breakdown Hoosier football. Danny bought a sweatshirt

 

[Pompous Elitist]

Overall health should be a bigger factor than age in my opinion, as we found out with Jerry Kill. Indiana also had a coach, Terry Hoeppner, who died of cancer after coaching the team for just a couple of seasons. I don't know if they or anyone knew about his health problem when they hired him.

Given the average duration of a coach I’d sure roll the dice on a proven winner at all levels. Will he get the fat and happy syndrome now that he got paid?

 

[Word]

Given the average duration of a coach I’d sure roll the dice on a proven winner at all levels. Will he get the fat and happy syndrome now that he got paid?

If I was Indiana I wouldn't be worried about age. I think it may benefit them in that he would be less attractive to other teams.

 

[forever a gopher]

It could be really smart or it could be a Mel Tucker type contract.

Mel Tucker was 16-14 overall when he signed his contract. Cignetti is 129-35. Hopefully IU paid a private investigator to dig into his background to determine if he’s likely to engage in inappropriate phone sex.

Of course, Tucker’s transgressions was the best thing to happen to MSU, so maybe you don’t go digging…

Edit- found this when looking up Tuckers contract. I hadn’t followed this at all, but apparently Tucker sued MSU because they fired him not for what he did, but for “being black”. Good grief.

https://www.sportico.com/law/analysis/2024/mel-tucker-michigan-state-lawsuit-1234802794/