When Pittsburgh hired away Boston College offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. last month, third-year head coach Jeff Hafley had to make the first replacement hire of his Eagles tenure.
“A lot of people were kind of on me to get it hired, get it hired, but I wanted to take my time,” Hafley told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
Hafley took two and a half weeks to conduct what he called a “pretty detailed process.” He said he talked to seven or eight candidates, half of whom he said he had never worked with.
Hafley noted that some guys he interviewed were well-versed in the pass game and had quarterback experience. Others were better trained in the run game and had coached the offensive line. John McNulty, however, has practically done it all.
McNulty, most recently Notre Dame’s tight ends coach, has 15 years of NFL coaching experience. He’s coached wide receivers, tight ends and quarterbacks at the highest level. And he’s called plays as Rutgers’ offensive coordinator on two separate occasions: first in 2007-08, then in 2018-19.
“Kind of like me, he left, went to the NFL and then he came back,” Hafley said. “And when you watch how he’s evolved, it shows. That, to me, is really impressive. He knows what the college game is all about right now.”
Hafley credited Rob Chudzinksi—former Cleveland Browns head coach and current special assistant to Hafley at BC—for helping guide the interview process. Chudzinski’s offensive pedigree came in handy during the candidate background checks, Hafley said.
Hafley also consulted current players, namely redshirt senior quarterback Phil Jurkovec, throughout the hiring process. He clarified that he didn’t ask his players who the coordinator should be. Rather, he called players, filled them in on the situation and answered questions that they had about the vacancy.
“Phil was excited, Emmett [Morehead] was excited,” Hafley said. “Guys were excited. They wanted to know: ‘Who are you talking to? Are we close yet? Do you have a guy in mind?’ And, you know, when I kind of found out the direction we’re going and had the conversations with those guys, they were excited.”
Hafley said, when making the hire, he had to balance his short-term goals for the program—which include Jurkovec and star wide receiver Zay Flowers—with his long-term vision.
He feels like McNulty will help him check off both those boxes.
“There’s things John has that he showed me on tape that he wants to do that really fit who we are,” Hafley said. “And I think that’s really important. But … also, when he was showing me the film, [I was] thinking, wow, some of our young guys are gonna be really good at that.”
McNulty and Hafley crossed paths in the NFL back in 2013 when McNulty was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterbacks coach and Hafley was the team’s defensive backs coach. Given that they were on opposite sides of the ball, they didn’t spend extensive time together, Hafley admitted, but he said he got to know McNulty as a person.
“I know how people feel about him in this profession," Hafley said. "And they hold him in really high regard, both as a football coach in both leagues and, even more importantly, as a person.”
Hafley said that it helps to hire someone you’ve worked with in the past. That said, he made it clear that a prior relationship wasn’t a necessary qualification. Neither was NFL experience, which he referred to as “a huge bonus.”
This didn’t have to be an outside hire, either, according to Hafley.
“I think we have really good coaches here who I think are gonna be great coordinators, who I have a lot of respect for and who I really want to be here and help us out,” Hafley said.
BC is coming off an injury-riddled season that saw it plummet from 68th nationally in scoring (27.8 points per game) to 93rd (24.7). Of course, a season-threatening fracture to the throwing hand of Jurkovec—which cost him six games—threw a wrench in the 2021 campaign.
Still, Cignetti and the Eagles appeared reluctant to adapt the playbook to Dennis Grosel’s strengths, and it came back to haunt them as they averaged 10 points in their first four ACC games, all losses.
“I love Frank, and all you guys know that,” Hafley said. “I wish Frank the best of luck in Pittsburgh. I’m happy he’s gonna get to be around his family.
“We need to improve on offense next year. That starts with me, right? And that’s why this hire was huge for me. Because it all falls on me.”
