Psaros: Thoughts On Frank Cignetti Jr. Coming To Pitt

My initial thoughts on the reported hire of Frank Cignetti as Pitt’s new offensive coordinator.

**First and foremost, Cignetti is familiar with Pitt and the city of Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh native doesn’t have to familiarize himself with the school or surrounding environment. I believe that he will be pleasantly surprised with how much further the program has progressed since he was an assistant here. With the synergistic leadership of Heather Lyke and Pat Narduzzi, Cignetti will join a program with far better culture and facilities. Cignetti joined Dave Wannstedt’s staff in 2009 and had to deal with Steve Pederson’s oppressive (cheap) leadership style.

**Cignetti reminds me quite a bit of Pat Narduzzi. Both men are intense, fiery coaches that demand excellence. One may initially wonder if this would lead to an incendiary relationship. However, Narduzzi is a defensive minded coach and tends to sit back and allow his coordinator to run the offense. I don’t believe this will be an issue.

**Cignetti, based on his past, is a strong recruiter. Mark Whipple was an outstanding offensive coordinator, but I don’t believe recruiting was his strong suit. You either have a passion for it or you don’t. Cignetti will roll up his sleeves and get far more involved in this process than previous Pitt offensive coordinators.

**Narduzzi covets experience and Cignetti has plenty of it, having served as offensive coordinator at Fresno State, North Carolina, California, Rutgers, Pitt and Boston College. The 56-year old also has valuable time in the NFL on his resume, with the Kansas City Chiefs, New Orlean Saints, San Francisco 49ers (quarterback coach), St. Louis Rams (quarterback coach and offensive coordinator), NY Giants (quarterback coach) and Green Bay Packers (quarterback coach). He’s a versatile coach that works well with his top talent. If he has dynamic playmakers, he’ll get them the ball.

**Cignetti has worked with and developed quarterbacks. He spent six years in the NFL working with quarterbacks. If you look myopically at Pitt, you can’t ignore what he did for Bill Stull his senior year at Pitt. Stull finished his final year as a Panther throwing for 2,633 yards, 21 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions.

This is a solid hire for Pat Narduzzi and Pitt.