Winning Without Style Points: Frank Cignetti Jr.’s Goal With Pitt’s Offense

When Frank Cignetti Jr. was just a boy, growing up in Morgantown, West Virginia, he watched his brother play quarterback for his father’s West Virginia football team.

Cignetti was just a kid, but he had football in his blood. His father Frank Sr. coached WVU for a few years and built a dynasty at Division II Indiana University (Pa.), and his brother Curt is a long-time coach who now serves as the head coach at James Madison.

It only made sense for Cignetti to follow his father to IUP and get his start playing college football for his father. And that bond has never been broken.

Cignetti would get his start as a graduate assistant at Pitt before returning to spend eight years as an assistant and coordinator under his father at IUP in the 1990s. The time together would prepare Cignetti for his future as a college and NFL coach, but it was more than just a coaching opportunity. He left IUP to pursue his professional goals, but his father was always his first and most important mentor.

Frank Sr. passed away in September, the day of Pitt’s matchup against Tennessee, and both Frank Jr. and Curt would end up coaching their respective teams on the same day. A testament to the impact that Frank Sr. had upon his two boys.

When Cignetti was asked about the lessons his father taught him Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, it was an emotional moment. It was a moment that stood out in the bleakness that’s surrounded Pitt’s offensive performance this season.

“We’re here to help these young men,” Cignetti said. “Winning and losing is part of the process, but it’s our job to build positive relationships. And try to make them better people, better men, better husbands, better fathers. (My father) taught me to realize that every day is a blessing, every day is a positive day. Some days are better than others, and when you go into work, go in there and make a difference in these kids’ lives. Don’t let the negative things in this business, and there’s a lot of them — you’ve gotta block out the outside noise.

“These kids give us everything they have. They prepare, they give us effort, and you can’t ever let the winning and losing change the way you love these kids and care about these kids.

“When I come into work every day, I talk to my dad and I want to make him proud. And part of that is being positive and making a difference in these kids’ lives.”

It’s not an understatement to say that Pitt’s offense has been a disappointment this season. The points, the explosive plays — outside of Israel Abanikanda — haven’t been there. For an offense that had goals of living up to the Kenny Pickett-led level of success, it’s been nothing short of a failure through seven games. But Cignetti doesn’t see a failed offense.

“They’ve picked up the offense, you know, football is the ultimate team game,” Cignetti said. “We try to put our guys in the best position to be successful. When we try to balance the run game and the passing game, I think you see us play very well.”

Abanikanda has been one of the best running backs in college football this season. As college football’s fourth-leading rusher, Abanikanda has been responsible for nearly all of Pitt’s entire offensive production this season. He’s racked up 959 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns in just seven games. And his focus is on helping the offense win.

“I’m gonna try to do anything possible for us to win, so I’m just gonna keep working,” Abanikanda said Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

Abanikanda hasn’t been the issue, he’s been the exception when it comes to a poor Pitt offense. If not for him, there’s no telling where Pitt would be through seven games. Even when Abanikanda has played well, Pitt has lost. And it’s largely come about from turnovers and penalties.

In looking at the turnovers and penalties in losses to Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Louisville, Cignetti said those are the areas where Pitt is trying to cut down — trying to grow. He said when Pitt plays cleanly, it usually results in success. In Pitt’s three losses, there have been nine turnovers. In four wins, there have been three turnovers.

Pittsburgh Panthers running back Israel Abanikanda (2) October 8, 2022 David Hague/PSN

“First of all, any player we try to put in a position to be successful,” Cignetti said. “We talk about the foundation of any player’s success is fundamentals and techniques. That’s the foundation. Every day we go out there as coaches, we teach this great game. Just like today’s practice, we’ll get a chance to go out there, watch it on tape and make the corrections — schematic, fundamental and technique, whether its eyes and feet and then players, the biggest thing we ask is to prepare to perform.”

When it comes to the passing game, it’s Kedon Slovis working through his progressions, his starting point in his reps. Are his eyes leading his feet? Is he able to make quick, decisive decisions?

When it comes to the run game, is Slovis able to make the right run checks, the right protection checks to get the offense into position?

It wasn’t a secret that Cignetti wanted to find a way to balance Pitt’s offense upon arriving over the winter, and without Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison this season, it’s been a Pitt offense that relies heavily — very heavily — upon Abanikanda and the run game.

Cignetti wants to play into Pitt’s strengths, a running backs room and offensive line room where he sees potential, but at the end of the day, he doesn’t care how the results are achieved. It could be the ugliest game imaginable. It’s about winning. It’s about Pitt scoring one more point than the opponent.

“I’m all about winning,” Cignetti said. “The three losses were definitely disappointing. I’m not into style points. One thing I learned in the National Football League, it’s about winning. It ain’t about how many pass yards I have, it ain’t about how many running yards, it’s about trying to get one more point.”

At 4-3, it hasn’t been a season in which Pitt’s offense has racked up victories. It’s been Abanikanda and stout defensive efforts that have led to  real winning opportunities this season. And when the offense has had chances to put points on the board, turnovers and penalties have negated major opportunities.

“These are teaching moments,” Cignetti said. “Those are the words I used with the offense Sunday, these are teaching moments. The offensive staff, we’re never going to let our disappointment in losing change the way we are going to positively coach these guys, so we can learn.”

Cignetti wants to be balanced. When an offensive is run first, a run action team with situational dropback passes, the goal is to get into a balanced split of run and pass plays. And if it works initially, the goal then is to keep it going. Get ahead in the game, settle into a four-minute offense and rack up rush attempts with a player like Abanikanda.

Obviously, that isn’t always the case. It hasn’t been for Pitt at times this season. It comes down to the coaching staff, Cignetti as the leader, making calls as the game progresses. What’s going on? Is Pitt’s offense playing well? What is the offense doing well? Football, Cignetti said, is the ultimate team game.

The Virginia Tech game is one where Cignetti felt like with Abanikanda playing well, running behind a clicking offensive line, it showcased Pitt’s offense. Abanikanda racked up 320 yards and six touchdowns.

For the baseball aficionados, Abanikanda hit six home runs.

“When you’ve got a home run hitter back there,” Cignetti said, “you’ve gotta give him at-bats.”

According to Mack Brown, North Carolina’s head coach, Abanikanda is the best running back in college football. Pitt has certainly seen that, a 4-3 record wouldn’t be possible without his efforts.

And despite a lackluster passing effort, extraordinary running back in Abanikanda and overall subpar offensive showing this season, it’s as Cignetti said, a win is a win.

The goal going forward, no matter what happens with the passing attack, is to win football games.