Lessons from his father guide Frank Cignetti Jr. while he works to fix Pitt's aerial game

Every morning when Frank Cignetti Jr. turns on the lights in his office, a tidal wave of thoughts rush toward him, followed by a seemingly endless series of questions and, hopefully, the right answers.

• What kind of blitz will the next opponent throw at him?

• What plays will work? Which ones must be discarded?

• What does he want to see from his quarterback at practice later that morning?

• Should we emphasize the run game Saturday night against North Carolina? Or is this the week to unleash an aerial attack?

All important questions for Pitt’s offensive coordinator. But before he loses himself in the job, Cignetti stops for a minute to remember his dad, Hall of Fame coach Frank Cignetti Sr., who died Sept. 10.

“When I come into work every day, I talk to my dad,” Cignetti said Wednesday during a break between practice and meetings. “And I want to make him proud. Part of that is being positive and making a difference in these kids’ lives.”

Frank Cignetti Jr. , a coach and a teacher pic.twitter.com/BzrDW8voE5

— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) October 26, 2022

The heat is on Pitt’s coaching staff and players after losses in two of the past three games.

But Cignetti, 57, greeted reporters Wednesday with a pleasant, “Well, how’s everyone doing?” Even while he knew their questions surely would center on Pitt’s four turnovers last Saturday in Louisville.

Cignetti understands the unforgiving nature of college and professional football. He has coached for more than three decades at both levels, and he knows a 4-3 record for a team coming off an ACC championship is not acceptable.

“One thing I learned in the National Football League: This is a game about winning,” he said.

Toward that end, he spends hours working on a gameplan with coach Pat Narduzzi and the offensive coaches. That’s the necessary nuts and bolts of coaching.

But what he especially enjoys are those evenings when his quarterbacks, led by starter Kedon Slovis, knock on his door after hours and want to talk ball.

“Man, we love coaching this game,” Cignetti said. “Kedon and the quarterbacks came in for a while. What a great meeting we had. Just to be able to teach the game of football. Take the winning and losing out of it. But just the experiences we’ve been able to have with coaches and to share the knowledge and the wisdom with these guys.

“Honestly, the relationships are important.”

Earlier in the week, when he gathered the offensive players around him, he told them, “We work hard, and winning football games is not easy and that (Louisville) loss hurt.

“But we have to take a look at this film, take a look at the mistakes, and we have to learn from it. Because at the end of the day, we’re teachers. We want to do the best job we can staying positive. So, hopefully, they don’t make the same mistake again.”

The lesson of positivity is one of many he learned from his father, whom he played for and coached with at IUP.

Asked to articulate what he learned from his dad, whose playing and coaching career spanned a half-century, Cignetti had a difficult time hiding his emotions. But he was clear about the lessons learned.

“You handle them with respect,” he said. “We’re here to help these young men. 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.

“He taught me to realize that every day is a blessing. Every day is a positive day. Some days are better than others. When you go into work, go in there and make a difference in these kids’ lives. Don’t let the negative things that happen in this business (create a distraction). Because there are a lot of them. You have to block out the outside noise.

“You can’t ever let the winning and losing change the way you love these kids and care about these kids.”

Cignetti’s current project is getting Slovis to find the aerial touch that produced 503 yards in six quarters against West Virginia and Tennessee before he suffered a concussion and missed a game and a half.

“Kedon’s done some great things out there,” Cignetti said. “First off, playing quarterback is very difficult. I think about all the great quarterbacks I’ve been around in my life (including Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning). It’s hard.

“Kedon has done a very nice job preparing himself. He’s done a great job in the run game in terms of run checks, protection checks. In the passing game, there are always going to be plays you want to have back. I don’t know a quarterback who doesn’t have plays they want to have back.

“Kedon is progressing. Hopefully, as we stay healthy here, we’re going to see continued success and better play with Kedon.”