Curt Cignetti's bravado on display at Big Ten Media Days – The Daily Hoosier

INDIANAPOLIS As Washington head coach Jedd Fisch took questions from the media on the main podium at Lucas Oil Stadium, Curt Cignetti gathered for his turn on stage.

The lights were bright and the stage was grand at Big Ten Media Days. Cignetti had a busy day ahead of him with various interviews, press conferences and other media work. And he capitalized on one of the free moments he had. As Fisch spoke, Cignetti paced the lawn behind the stage aimlessly, all by himself. He seemed to be using those few minutes to get himself in the right frame of mind to speak in front of the large group of media gathered in Indianapolis. And when Fisch’s press conference ended and he left the stage, Cignetti was there to greet him with an immediate handshake.

This behavior was not typical of the other coaches present on Thursday. Some had not even come out of the tunnel before their press conference. Others remained motionless and chatted with their SIDs next to the stage.

And the moment he stepped on stage, Cignetti was himself: brimming with sarcastic bravado. He’s not afraid to throw his track record in people’s faces. He’s heard too much about Indiana football’s troubled history, and he’s supremely confident he has the secret recipe to get the Hoosiers excited.

“Normally at these events, I stand here and we’re picked to win the league. That’s just how it usually goes. I’ve been picked second to last twice. We’re picked 17th out of an 18-team league, and I get it. Both times we’ve been picked second to last, in 2022, we won the conference championship, and in 2017, we inherited an 8-45 team and won eight straight and played JMU the last game of the year for the conference championship,” Cignetti said. “Now, I’m not making predictions, this is just a historical fact. I know you were waiting for me to say something crazy. It wasn’t exactly crazy.”

Cignetti has talked like this since his first day in Bloomington, when he boldly shared his vision for the program at his introductory news conference and then produced a viral moment at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall by bashing Purdue, Michigan and Ohio State.

He made it clear that he wasn’t trying to disrespect his opponents, but rather to create buzz around his football program. Sure, he can sometimes go a little too far, a weakened filter that Cignetti said comes with age. But much of Cignetti’s character seems calculated, whether it’s to excite fans, motivate players or encourage donors or whatever audience he has.

“I had to have a great sense of humor in taking on this role because we had to wake some people up and create some excitement. And after all, it’s also the entertainment world,” Cignetti said. “It’s coaching, but it’s entertainment.”

By all accounts, Cignetti is simply blessed with such self-confidence. His energy and bold personality never stops. He's like that all the time.

And it trickles down to his players. When he makes rude comments in the media, IU players see the clips and share them in their chat groups. It motivates them.

“Coach Cig, his attitude and his confidence is contagious, it’s huge for our team. We have a guy that goes out there and believes in himself so much just because of the way he prepares. So that’s what drives us,” said linebacker Aiden Fisher, who played for Cignetti the last two seasons at JMU. “And we believe so much in ourselves and what we can do because we have the guy leading the team that takes care of things on the back end so there’s nothing we’re not prepared for. It’s because he takes care of those things behind the scenes.”

Cignetti's personality worked as expected this offseason. IU fans showed the enthusiasm he wanted. He said the response has been positive in Bloomington. He's more than talked the talk in the last eight months.

His confidence will be tested when fall camp begins next week. Words don’t win football games, which is clearly Cignetti’s goal. Indiana will need his play to back up its coach’s belief. It could work, and it could fail spectacularly. But at the very least, he’ll make sure it’s entertaining.

As a new IU football season begins, one thing is clear: the energy around IU football has changed significantly.

“With coach Cignetti and the confidence he brings to this program, to this community, I think the fans support him and us, and I think that’s what we needed,” offensive lineman Mike Katic said. “We needed support, not that we don’t get support from the fans and the community, but it’s different this year.”

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