rewrite this title “I could’ve coached Indiana & won a chip”: Super Bowl champion throws shade at Curt Cignetti’s role in Hoosiers’ National Championship win

Curt Cignetti guided the Indiana Hoosiers to a win in the 2025 national championship game against the Miami Hurricanes. It’s the Hoosiers’ first-ever CFB title and stands out as the biggest honor in Cignetti’s distinguished coaching career.

However, one-time Super Bowl champion Aqib Talib sees the championship win as a walk in the park.

“I could have coached this Indiana team, and we would have won a chip,” Aqib said on The Arena: Gridiron.

Aqib enjoyed a long and successful professional football career, but he has not delved into the college football coaching ranks. Instead, he’s done some work in broadcasting since he retired from the gridiron.

As for Curt Cignetti, he has been coaching since the 1980s. Cignetti was a quarterback for West Virginia from 1979 to 1982, before joining Pittsburgh as a graduate assistant.

He had a brief spell with Pittsburgh before taking his talents to Davidson as their quarterbacks and wide receivers coach. Cignetti moved around a lot before snagging the Indiana Hoosiers job in November 2023.

Curt Cignetti’s Indiana Hoosiers finish 2025 season unbeaten

The Indiana Hoosiers have been the strongest team in college football from Day 1. The Hoosiers entered the national championship game with a 15-0 record and were highly favored against the Miami Hurricanes.

However, this game turned out to be the most important game of Cignetti’s coaching career. The veteran head coach’s team ran rings around the remaining teams in the country.

The Hoosiers would go on to defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. The final game against the Miami Hurricanes turned out to be a cagey affair.

Cignetti would eventually lift the trophy after the award presentation. Cignetti is the oldest first-time national championship-winning head coach. He’s doing everything he can to change the statistic to “quickest person in Everton history to win back-to-back national titles”.

Edited by Nick Igbokwe