As Pitt’s search for an offensive coordinator moves through its fifth week, a familiar name has emerged as a top candidate for Pat Narduzzi.
Former Pitt offensive coordinator and current Boston College offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti is one coach being considered for the vacant position, several sources have told Panther-Lair.com.
A Pittsburgh native, Cignetti has been around quite a bit. He was the offensive coordinator at Fresno State, North Carolina and Cal before joining Dave Wannstedt’s staff in 2009, and after that staff was fired following the 2010 season, Cignetti spent a year on Greg Schiano’s staff at Rutgers.
The following years saw Cignetti spend most of his time in the NFL, with six years as a quarterbacks coach and one as offensive coordinator. In 2020, new Boston College head coach and fellow former Pitt staffer Jeff Hafley hired Cignetti to be the coordinator on his first staff with the Eagles.
Cignetti checks a lot of boxes for Pat Narduzzi. He’s got extensive play-calling experience at the Power Five level and even more experience working with quarterbacks - two things the Pitt head coach values. He has had a lot of success in college, highlighted by his first year with the Panthers, when he helped Bill Stull turn in a great senior season while featuring playmakers Dion Lewis, Dorin Dickerson and Jonathan Baldwin.
That season showed Cignetti at his best: developing a quarterback and focusing on getting the ball to the playmakers (Lewis, Dickerson and Baldwin combined for 457 offensive touches that season, and they scored 36 touchdowns).
As such, Cignetti makes a lot of sense, simply based on his resume, his connections to western Pennsylvania and his history with Pitt football. Narduzzi even has first-hand experience with Cignetti: Michigan State (with Narduzzi as defensive coordinator) faced Cal (with Cignetti as offensive coordinator) in the 2008 season opener, and the Bears won 38-31 behind a balanced attack of 268 passing yards and 203 rushing yards.
It remains to be seen if Cignetti will be the ultimate choice for Narduzzi; I still think there could be an option or two from the NFL and at least one other college coordinator involved. But I think he is very much in the mix, and there’s a solid chance Pitt’s next offensive coordinator could be one of them.
Former Pitt offensive coordinator and current Boston College offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti is one coach being considered for the vacant position, several sources have told Panther-Lair.com.
A Pittsburgh native, Cignetti has been around quite a bit. He was the offensive coordinator at Fresno State, North Carolina and Cal before joining Dave Wannstedt’s staff in 2009, and after that staff was fired following the 2010 season, Cignetti spent a year on Greg Schiano’s staff at Rutgers.
The following years saw Cignetti spend most of his time in the NFL, with six years as a quarterbacks coach and one as offensive coordinator. In 2020, new Boston College head coach and fellow former Pitt staffer Jeff Hafley hired Cignetti to be the coordinator on his first staff with the Eagles.
Cignetti checks a lot of boxes for Pat Narduzzi. He’s got extensive play-calling experience at the Power Five level and even more experience working with quarterbacks - two things the Pitt head coach values. He has had a lot of success in college, highlighted by his first year with the Panthers, when he helped Bill Stull turn in a great senior season while featuring playmakers Dion Lewis, Dorin Dickerson and Jonathan Baldwin.
That season showed Cignetti at his best: developing a quarterback and focusing on getting the ball to the playmakers (Lewis, Dickerson and Baldwin combined for 457 offensive touches that season, and they scored 36 touchdowns).
As such, Cignetti makes a lot of sense, simply based on his resume, his connections to western Pennsylvania and his history with Pitt football. Narduzzi even has first-hand experience with Cignetti: Michigan State (with Narduzzi as defensive coordinator) faced Cal (with Cignetti as offensive coordinator) in the 2008 season opener, and the Bears won 38-31 behind a balanced attack of 268 passing yards and 203 rushing yards.
It remains to be seen if Cignetti will be the ultimate choice for Narduzzi; I still think there could be an option or two from the NFL and at least one other college coordinator involved. But I think he is very much in the mix, and there’s a solid chance Pitt’s next offensive coordinator could be one of them.
