Report: Pitt to hire Cignetti as new offensive coordinator

It appears the search for Mark Whipple's successor is over.

A report from Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports indicates Pitt is expected to hire Frank Cignetti Jr. as the Panthers' new offensive coordinator. Cignetti, a native of Pittsburgh, returns back to the place where his coaching career started, as his first coaching job was for Pitt as a graduate assistant in 1989. Cignetti leaves his position as offensive coordinator for Boston College, where had held the position for two seasons coaching the Eagles.

Cignetti has plenty of coaching ties to western Pennsylvania, as after his one-year stint with Pitt as a graduate assistant, he coached at his alma mater, Indiana University of Pennysylvania (IUP) under his father, Frank Cignetti Sr., from 1990-1998 at (IUP). During that time, Cigneti Jr. rose from being a receivers coach, to defensive backs coach, quarterbacks coach, and then eventually offensive coordinator. During his tenure, IUP would visit the Division II National Championship twice and make the semifinals for the tournament four times.

After IUP, CIgnetti bounced between college football and the NFL, including a two-year period as Pitt's offensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010 under Dave Wannstedt, the last two times Pitt would be ranked before Pat Narduzzi took over as head coach. Over the years, Cignetti spent eleven seasons coaching NFL quarterbacks with stints as a position coach for the Chiefs, Saints, 49ers, Giants and Packers, as well as a year as the Rams' offensive coordinator. Intermittently between that, Cignetti served as offensive coordinator at college programs like Fresno State, North Carolina, California, Pitt, Rutgers, and most recently, Boston College.

Under his coaching the past two seasons Boston College has seen the rise of Phil Jurkovec, also a Pittsburgh-native, who led the Eagles to be the ACC's third ranked passing team in 2020. Jurkovec also led the Eagles to an overtime victory over the Panthers that same year. But injuries and COVID issues only allowed Jurkovec to play half the season, limiting Boston College's offense in 2021.

Now, Cignetti inherits a loaded offense with several returning talents to Pitt's roster that averaged 41.4 points per game in 2021, the third-highest rate in the FBS. He'll have three experienced backs in Israel Abanikanda, Vincent Davis and Rodney Hammond Jr., Pitt's full returning offensive line from 2020, a promising sophomore tight end in Gavin Bartholomew, highly-touted USC transfer quarterback Kedon Slovis, and a wide receiver group clad with playmakers like Jared Wayne, Jaylen Barden, highly-touted transfer Konata Mumpfield, and the 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner, Jordan Addison.

Addison was seen with Narduzzi Thursday afternoon at the end of Steelers practice, where both took in the Steelers' preparation for their playoff game with the Chiefs and spoke with Kevin Colbert, Mike Tomlin and other members of the team:

But Cignetti is familiar with inheriting a talented Pitt offense, as the group he inherited in 2009 was good enough to finish 10-3 and ranked 15th by the Associated Press, which was the highest a Pitt team had finished ranked by the AP since 1982 until Narduzzi's Panthers finished this past season ranked 13th.

That 2009 team had star talents like Dion Lewis who ran for 1799 yards, Jonathan Baldwin who went for 1,111 receiving yards, and Dorin Dickerson who led the team with ten touchdown receptions. Dickerson, who works for the Pittsburgh Penguins now and appears on WPXI's The Final Word as a panelist, expressed his excitement over the report that his former offensive coordinator would be returning to Pitt Thursday evening:

The return of Cignetti brings an experienced coordinator who's used to both college and professional atmospheres to Narduzzi's coaching staff. Pitt still needs to hire a new wide receivers coach after Brennan Marion's departure, but with Addison and Mumpfield as star talent among the group, that won't be a hard process to complete. Excitement continues to build for what could be for Pitt football in 2022.

• Pitt lost a Transfer Portal recruit in Michigan State safety Michael Dowell, who was thought to convert to linebacker in Pitt's defense.