What Did OC Frank Cignetti Jr. Say on ‘Packer and Durham’?

Boston College went from running the ball 65% of the time in 2019 to passing it 59% of its offensive plays last season under the eye of longtime NFL assistant Frank Cignetti Jr.

Cignetti converted the Eagles’ offense into one of the ACC’s most pass-happy and explosive units. BC finished 2020 with the third-best aerial attack in the conference.

The second-year Eagles offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach hopped on ACC Network’s “Packer and Durham” Wednesday morning to talk about last season and BC’s trajectory.

“It all starts with Coach Hafley,” Cignetti said. “He’s a tremendous leader. He’s a tremendous person. He’s building such a positive culture here at Boston College. He’s got love in his heart. Everything is about putting the players in a position to be successful, on and off the field.”

Jeff Hafley, who spent seven years as an assistant in the NFL, made a point of bringing in guys with pro coaching experience when he stitched together his staff after taking over BC’s program in December 2019. Cignetti has been around the league more than anyone on the team.

“Coach Hafley is running the program here just like the National Football League,” he said. “And our offensive and defensive systems are like the National Football League. What I see is, we go into every week game planning: Who are we going to play, what do we have to beat?”

Cignetti’s first NFL gig came back in 1999, when he was an offensive assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs. Since, he’s served as the quarterbacks coach for five different teams, including the then-St. Louis Rams, who promoted him to offensive coordinator for the 2015 season.

Cignetti called upon his NFL roots when crafting the Eagles’ motion-based scheme. While BC doesn’t rely on 12-personnel sets as heavily as Steve Addazio’s Eagles teams, the unit still features double tight end packages.

“It creates an extra gap in the running game,” Cignetti explained. “In the passing game, you can create matchups on linebackers and safeties based on if a defense is going to play base or a sub defense, you know how to call the game to take advantage of it.”

He emphasized that, as a play-caller, he’s going to attack a defense—depending on its formation—with BC’s strengths. The goal is to create explosives, he said. Last season, the Eagles recorded 25 offensive plays that went for 30 or more yards, good for eighth in the ACC.

When it comes to gameday, Cignetti tries to stay “cool and calm.” He said that’s why he likes to call games from the press box because it’s removed from the on-field emotions.

Hafley has conditioned his staff to coach stringently during the week, paying attention to the most minute details and demanding exceptional fundamentals and technique. But on Saturdays, the coaches, Cignetti included, take a step back and let the players put it all together.

Cignetti admitted that there are times when he doesn’t even talk to his starting quarterback between series if everything’s going well. He trusts his players’ development during the week and knows they don’t need his voice constantly in their ears.

“If we throw an interception, basically what I tell ’em is it’s not your first one, it won’t be your last one,” Cignetti said. “But I do want to know, ‘Hey, what’d you see?’ And that’s the key to coaching quarterbacks. … What made them make those decisions?”

Cignetti tries to get in the heads of his signal callers and has cultivated relationships with each of them. Phil Jurkovec, BC’s star gunslinger, is from the same area of Pittsburgh as Cignetti, who said he had a feel for the Notre Dame transfer’s athleticism and will to win but didn’t really know just how special of a player BC had until the season opener against Duke last year.

“The beautiful thing about Phil was, not only could he play in the pocket and work through his progressions, but then when the progression broke down, he could extend plays, and the explosive plays just showed up.”

Jurkovec’s improvisational skills made it easier to call plays, Cignetti said. Having the mobile 6-foot-5 quarterback under center, along with a collection of playmaking wideouts, allowed the Eagles’ offense to break “wide open.”

Cignetti said he’s excited for training camp. He knows that the unit is “capable of greatness.”

And he’s ready to have some more fun up in the box.