Curt Cignetti may be the best thing to ever happen to Indiana football, but he is apparently not Paul Finebaum's cup of tea. When asked by AL.com to described a handful of notable college football coaches in only one word, his response to hearing Cignetti's name being mentioned was "annoying". That is a bit harsh for the force-of-personality head coach Indiana has leading IU back to the playoff.
Here is exactly what Finebaum had to say about Cignetti and why he claims he is "still annoying."
"Annoying. And there's just something about this guy that has continued to get on my nerves. I mean, he has done probably the greatest coaching job of all time, but he's still annoying."
Finebaum also called Lane Kiffin a "child" and Brian Kelly "arrogant", so it could always be worse, too...
We asked for one word to describe these top college football coaches, and @finebaum did not disappoint. pic.twitter.com/9KmL2oTMPJ
— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) December 16, 2025
This must rub Indiana fans the wrong way, as it should. What Cignetti has done for Indiana Hoosiers football is nothing short of miraculous. While he does have an influx of financial capital that none of his predecessors ever had before, Cignetti is clearly the right head coach to lead the Hoosiers to the promised land. They earned the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff for a reason this season...
It has to make you wonder what better word Finebaum could have used to describe Cignetti here...
Paul Finebaum does not beat around the bush with Curt Cignetti criticism
Not trying to defend what Finebaum said in this, but what if the narrative were to change on Cignetti in the coming months and years? Will his same relentlessness still land the same way with everyone? Cignetti is able to conduct himself this way, well, because he is excellent. He has asserted himself the upper echelon of the college football coaching world overnight. He should have everyone's respect.
That being said, Finebaum has been around the block plenty of times, and has seen seemingly everything in the coaching profession. Well, maybe not everything... What we are witnessing out of Cignetti is the epitome of unprecedented. The man has lost a combined two games over the last two years at Indiana. Even if IU does not win the College Football Playoff, it will be only three in two years...
Overall, Cignetti should have done enough to be given the benefit of the doubt from Finebaum here. For better or worse, his words still carry a ton of clout in the sport. Rather than go against the grain and call the guy "annoying", would it have not served Finebaum to take the easier route by using "outstanding" or "relentless" to describe Cignetti? Then again, Finebaum can also be "annoying", too.
For now, Indiana awaits the winner of two SEC teams to likely be IU cannon fodder in the Rose Bowl.