He doesn't say much, but when he does, they listen.
"One of those moments came last year as the Hoosiers were set to fly to the Rose Bowl for their College Football Playoff opener against Alabama.
Cignetti stopped Indiana's final practice in Bloomington before the flight and huddled the team together.
"I remember this vividly," Jones said. "Coach Cig was like, 'This is sloppy. You guys already got your minds on California. You probably think this is some vacation. You can't wait to get on the plane. And if you guys keep practicing how you're practicing, we're going to go out there and get our ***** kicked.'
"He was not going to let that practice be a waste of his time. That really set the tone and locked everyone in ... and then you saw how the game went."
The Hoosiers rolled 38-3, handing Alabama its worst loss this millennium."