Paul Finebaum Has Strong Words For Curt Cignetti, Indiana

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dibyendu Mondal | Last updated Oct 27, 2025 12:27 PM ET

The Indiana Hoosiers are the talk of the town right now. Curt Cignetti has guided his boys through eight unbeaten games. They are now firmly in discussions for both the Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoff.

During Monday's episode of "The Matt Barrie Show," ESPN commentator Paul Finebaum dropped some praise for Cignetti, which particularly hits the humorous note because it completely contradicts his previous words. Finebaum drops it to get the Indiana fans off his back.

"I really am a big fan of Curt Cignetti. I think he's a very likable, engaging personality," Finebaum expressed. "I was watching their game on the plane yesterday, coming back. And what a great story. I'm just so glad that all of us in college football have wrapped our arms around Kurt."

Previously, after Week 7, Barrie and Finebaum got together to discuss college football and that's when he completely contradicted his recent words calling Cignetti not likable. This drew some detest from the Hoosier fans.

"No, the answer is pretty simple," Finebaum said when Barrie asked whether he found Cignetti likable. "I think you know me. I mean, I respect him to no end, but he's brash. He's over the top."

And this is not the sole occurrence where the ESPN personality came after Cignetti.

A few days ago, Cignetti signed a contract extension worth $92 million, becoming the third-highest-paid coach in the college football world. He will earn more than approximately $11.5 million per year until 2033. Finebaum was not happy about this deal.

Curt Cignetti knows how to turn things around (as does @CoachUrbanMeyer ) pic.twitter.com/VQJD39x4LH
— Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) October 22, 2025

"This is a terrible move by Indiana," Finebaum previously said on his show. "I know that the college football cognoscenti will disagree with me, but there is no way in the world that Curt Cignetti should be the third-highest-paid coach in the country. He is not in Kirby Smart's league. He is not in Ryan Day's League. He has a big win on the road against Oregon..."

This move by the Hoosiers' management came especially after the 30-20 win over Oregon Ducks, the team that went unbeaten in the regular season last year. Seems Finebaum is finally giving in to the Indiana fans, only jokingly though.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: