Frank Cignetti Jr. to Pitt Panthers: Thoughts & Analysis
On Thursday evening Pete Thamel (now of ESPN) reported that Boston College offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. would be taking the same position with the Pitt Panthers. What did he mean to BC, how does this move impact Jeff Hafley and his program, and where do the Eagles go from here? Here are some thoughts and reactions.
* Cignetti Jr.'s role in transforming BC's offense can not be understated. He was integral in bringing Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec to Chestnut Hill, something the quarterback mentioned in his interviews. As quarterback's coach he helped Jurkovec immensely as well, as many scouts noted an improvement in footwork and release after arriving at Boston College. Finally, turning BC's "ground and pound" offense into an offense the 24th ranked passing offense in 2020 was one of the more impressive coaching jobs we have seen in the Hafley regime.
* He also played an incredibly important role for first year head coach Jeff Hafley. As we know, Hafley's experience was all on the defensive side of the ball, and he needed an experienced offensive play caller that would basically take care of that side of the ball. He got that in Cignetti, which helped a lot of those first year coaching jitters.
* There is a lot to investigate in terms of the 2021 season. When Phil Jurkovec went down with a hand injury BC's offense regressed badly. Clearly, a big factor was the lack of a quarterback who could move the ball effectively, but some of that blame should sit with the offensive coordinator as well, who struggled to adjust and find something/anything to create a competent offense, and there were some issues with the offensive line as well. There may have been no answer to Grosel's struggles, but it seemed like BC was trying the same things over and over again with no results. Boston College averaged 10 points a game in October, and some of that fault lays on the play calling and coaching.
* So where does Boston College go from here? This is Jeff Hafley's first coaching change since taking over in 2020. Hafley is entering year three of his tenure, and most likely is going to still want an offensive coordinator with some experience. My gut feeling is that he is going to stay in house with his choice. On staff that could Rob Chudzinski, a former offensive coordinator both in the NFL and college ranks, who has been Hafley's special advisor the past two seasons. He reportedly turned down a job with Mario Cristobal and his alma mater Miami to stay with the Eagles. Joe Dailey is another option, who was offensive coordinator at Liberty and New Mexico, and experience coaching quarterbacks before coming to Chestnut Hill.
* But there is still the chance that Hafley goes outside the program to find his offensive coordinator. Later today we will have a hot board with some of those candidates.
* Cignetti is a solid fit for Pitt. After seeing what he did with Phil Jurkovec, he should find success with transfer QB Kedon Slovis, who has a high upside in the right system. Pairing his new quarterback with wide receivers like Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addison in his system, the new offensive coordinator should have the Panthers offense humming in 2022.
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