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Curt Cignetti bought new furniture after $93 million contract... but 36-year-old recliner stays
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- Curt Cignetti bought new furniture after $93 million contract... but 36-year-old recliner stays
Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti signed an eight-year, $93 million fully-guaranteed contract extension on Thursday. But rest assured, his well-worn, 36-year-old recliner isn't going anywhere.
"We bought the recliner when we got married, and the company has offered to replace it, but they don't make that kind anymore," Cignetti told the Big Ten Network prior to Saturday's game vs. Michigan State. "And we got new furniture in that room last night, and it's beautiful furniture and everything went — except for my recliner. It's untouchable."
Last August, IndyStar sports reporter Dana Hunsinger Benbow profiled the chair . Yes, the chair was profiled.
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Curt Cignetti calls it his beloved La-Z-Boy. It's beloved by him, not necessarily by his wife, Manette, and it's not a La-Z-Boy, she says laughing. It's a worn and faded teal Bradington Young recliner accented with gold beads and it's the chair Cignetti has settled into for the past 35 years to get his football film junkie fix and plot out plays.
The recliner is not pretty, at best it's ruggedly handsome. It has not been an interior design asset inside most of the houses the Cignettis have called home.
But it is where Cignetti feels most comfortable. It is where he sometimes eats dinner because he can't pry himself out and where he has been known to stay up into the wee hours of the morning still scheming and thinking about football, accidentally falling asleep in the chair.
IU football coach Curt Cignetti sits in his beloved recliner Aug. 19, 2024, after a long day of preparation for the upcoming season.
... Cignetti still goes home to the recliner each night and takes a seat. That faded Bradington Young has followed him through eight coaching jobs. With each move, he has won the battle with his wife of the so-called "La-Z-Boy." He's not so sure he will this time around.
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"She's trying to replace it right now," he said laughing. "There is some resistance going on, but it doesn't match the room, so we'll see what happens."
Like the Hoosiers this season, the chair remains undefeated.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Curt Cignetti keeping old La-Z-Boy recliner despite new contract
