ESPN’s annual coach rankings finally produced a shakeup at the top, and it came with a name nobody would have had there two years ago: Curt Cignetti.
After back-to-back years with Kirby Smart sitting comfortably at No. 1, ESPN’s panel of 10 reporters voted Indiana’s coach into the top spot for 2026. Cignetti earned five first-place votes and 94 total points, just ahead of Smart’s four first-place votes and 90 points.
The rise is as abrupt as it is remarkable. Cignetti wasn’t ranked at all two years ago. Now he’s being treated as the coach most worth trusting with a program in the sport, after guiding Indiana to its first national championship.
The numbers behind the climb are staggering. Indiana had never won 10 games in a season before Cignetti arrived. Since then, he’s gone 27-2 in Bloomington, capped by a 16-0 championship run in 2025 that tied the all-time FBS single-season wins record.
ESPN’s Dave Wilson, one of the five voters who placed Cignetti first, put the case in blunt terms. "But we've never seen anything like what Curt Cignetti has done at Indiana, taking the losingest program in college football history to a national title in two years," Wilson wrote. "If the definition of an elite coach is someone you'd trust to lead any program anywhere, he's where you start."
Cignetti’s standing is backed by a contract that matches the moment. His reworked deal is worth $105.6 million over eight years, an average of $13.2 million per year, making it the richest contract among public school coaches. That figure sits just above Smart and LSU’s Lane Kiffin, who are both at $13 million annually.
Still, the biggest test is right in front of him. Indiana has to replace Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, who went first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders in April. TCU transfer Josh Hoover is set to take over at quarterback.
Smart, meanwhile, still has a strong case of his own. ESPN’s Max Olson, who kept Georgia’s coach at No. 1, pointed to the kind of consistency most programs can only dream about. "He has maintained an incredibly high standard at Georgia with no bad years, finishing in the top seven of the AP poll in nine consecutive seasons, with eight trips to the SEC title game," Olson wrote.
Smart’s résumé remains loaded: two national titles, a 117-21 career record and a 40-5 mark in SEC play since 2021, all while the portal and NIL have changed the way teams are built.
But Georgia’s recent postseason results opened the door for a challenger. The Bulldogs have lost their opening College Football Playoff game in back-to-back seasons, including a 39-34 Sugar Bowl loss to Ole Miss that ended their 2025 season.
That combination of sustained excellence and recent frustration is what made this year’s vote so interesting. Smart still has the longer track record.
Cignetti has the fresher, more explosive rise. ESPN’s panel clearly split on how to weigh those realities.
Cignetti and Indiana will begin their title defense against North Texas at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5, at noon ET on FOX. Smart and Georgia open the same day against Tennessee St. at 3 p.m. ET on SECN+.
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