Why NFL teams may pursue Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti. Package deal?

5 days ago 2

Indiana football fans really like Curt Cignetti wearing red and white. How would he look in silver and black?

NFL Network and ESPN commentator Rich Eisen made a pitch for the Las Vegas Raiders to pursue the Hoosiers coach.

The Raiders fired coach Pete Carroll after a 3-14 season that left them with the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. And who is one of the possibilities for that selection? IU quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza.

Here's Eisen's pitch:

"If I'm (Raiders owner) Mark Davis, the first person I call ... I'm saying that I find out the phone number of Curt Cignetti, and I call him up, and I say, ... 'I have googled your work. I don't know if you're aware, but we hold the first overall pick in the draft, and you've got a HeisMendoza quarterback that we're kinda interested in. And I don't know if you're interested in this pro game. ... But do you want to move to Las Vegas, Nevada, and still be coaching your superb individual, human being and quarterback, Fernando Mendoza? Do you want to do that?'"

Eisen added the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns could pursue Cignetti.

"This may never be entering his mind," Eisen said. "He will never be a hotter candidate. I would kick the tires and find out. If the answer's no, I move on with my life."

IU already reworked Cignetti's contract to stave off offers from the likes of Penn State, Michigan and other high-profile programs that recently sought coaches. The No. 1 Hoosiers play Oregon in the Peach Bowl on Friday, Jan. 9.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NFL coaching rumors: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti should get calls

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