Former Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. enjoying break from coaching

Frank Cignetti Jr. woke up Saturday morning, back in Pittsburgh from his home in Florida, wondering what he might do next.

Normally, in his life as a coach, he was getting ready to navigate a game plan and mentor his quarterbacks through another football Saturday. This Saturday was different.

“I’m debating,” he said. “Am I going to run up to the IUP game? Friends have a tailgate. I try to support my friends.”

These are carefree days for Cignetti while he takes a break — permanent or not — from his 34-year coaching career in the NFL and college.

“It’s not all the time you get an opportunity to live life and realize what you’ve been missing out on,” he said.

Cignetti, 59, said “time will tell” if he coaches again.

“I’m in a really fortunate situation. I’ll see what opportunities come and if I want to do them or not,” he said.

Cignetti worked at Pitt under three coaches — Mike Gottfried as a graduate assistant in 1989 and Dave Wannstedt and Pat Narduzzi as offensive coordinator during the 2009, 2010, 2022 and 2023 seasons. The first three were 10-, eight- and nine-victory seasons.

“I’ve always believed my legacy is like my father’s (former WVU and IUP head coach Frank Cignetti Sr.),” he said. “You mentor and you try to help people. The game is so much more than winning and losing.”

Fired after the 3-9 season last year, he said he hasn’t watched a Pitt game this season, but he still thinks about his players.

“I’ll say this. I’m really proud of those guys,” he said. “I can never root against anyone who ever gave us everything they had to try and make us successful.”

On the morning of Pitt’s game against Tennessee on Sept. 10, 2022, Cignetti’s father died. He coached that day, calling the plays for a tough 34-27 overtime loss. Pitt went on to finish 9-4, the second-most victories among coach Pat Narduzzi’s first nine seasons.

Cignetti was especially proud of Pitt’s 37-35 victory against UCLA in the Sun Bowl that season. Pitt rallied in the final 34 seconds to win the game, one of Narduzzi’s two bowl victories as a head coach. Quarterback Nick Patti completed two passes and ran 11 yards to set up Ben Sauls’ game-winning 47-yard field goal.

“The Sun Bowl game was as good a win as I’ve ever been a part of,” Cignetti said, “because of the way we came back and won that game with 34 seconds and no timeouts. I was so happy for those guys and so happy for a guy like Nick Patti. There’s a guy who had tremendous leadership. He’s a damn good quarterback and he finally got his opportunity and led his team to a victory.

“Those are the memories you remember, the relationships. Those are the guys you’re happy for.”

Cignetti said he thanked Narduzzi and then-athletic director Heather Lyke for bringing him back to Pittsburgh.

“I told them, ‘Look, I’m a Pittsburgher, man. I appreciate the opportunity that I was given to come back here, spend time with my family, my father’s last eight months.’

“At the end of the day, those kids gave us everything they had. It just wasn’t quite good enough, and it started with me. I loved coaching those guys. I coached Pitt three times. I loved each one.“