Cignetti has a total contract value of $72 million, with the contract running through November 30, 2032, He has a 56.7m buyout. Add to that that he has succeeded at Indiana and has his club in the top 5 for the first time ever, there is zero and I mean zero pressure to produce more than he already has. He can stay and build on his success rather than come to a toxic environment that will be intensified by the mass exodus of players and recruits. What is the incentive for a man his mid-60s? Rebuild Penn State? Why? He has already accomplished this at Indiana which was a much harder sell.
As for Rhule, he has a career record of 2 and 23 against AP Top 25-ranked opponents as a college head coach, which includes a 1-11 record at Baylor and a 1-12 record at Nebraska. He also lost 14 consecutive games to ranked teams from late 2016 until until October 2024 when they were obliterated by Indiana. To me that is James Franklin 2.0. He would be good at steadying the program after its jump off the cliff, but he will not be the guy to beat the top tier teams he faces. Or, high floor, low ceiling.
This is arguably the best job open at the moment, but whoever steps up to do it needs to have nerves of steel to tune out fan expectations which will be unreasonable.