The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to bring in a familiar face with deep football roots - Frank Cignetti Jr. - as part of Mike McCarthy’s newly forming staff. While his exact title hasn’t been finalized, Cignetti is expected to step into a senior advisory role, likely serving as a sounding board on the offensive side of the ball.
This isn’t just a reunion - it’s a strategic addition. Cignetti and McCarthy go way back, having worked together in New Orleans in 2000 when Cignetti served as quarterbacks coach.
They crossed paths again in Green Bay in 2018, with Cignetti reprising that same role. That kind of continuity and trust matters when you’re reshaping a coaching staff, especially one that’s expected to look a lot different from what Steelers fans have grown used to under Mike Tomlin.
Cignetti’s football pedigree runs deep. He was born in Pittsburgh, the son of Frank Cignetti Sr., a coaching legend in his own right with stops at IUP and West Virginia.
Coaching is in the family DNA - his brother, Curt Cignetti, just led Indiana to a National Championship as head coach. Frank Jr. has carved out a career that’s spanned both college and the pros, with stints at several programs and NFL franchises alike.
Most recently, Cignetti was the offensive coordinator at IUP, returning to familiar territory after a two-year run as Pitt’s offensive coordinator. At the NFL level, he’s been a steady presence in quarterback rooms, helping develop talent across multiple teams. But with the Steelers already retaining Tom Arth as quarterbacks coach, Cignetti’s role will be more of an overarching one - think “Senior Offensive Assistant,” a title the team has used in the past for experienced voices like Mike Sullivan.
The move signals a clear trend under McCarthy: he’s assembling a larger, more layered staff than what we’ve seen in recent years. It’s early, but the approach seems to emphasize experience, continuity, and collaboration - three elements that could pay dividends for an offense in transition.
For the Steelers, adding someone like Cignetti isn’t just about X’s and O’s. It’s about bringing in a voice who’s been around the NFL block, understands the quarterback position inside and out, and knows how to work within a coaching structure that’s aiming to evolve. With McCarthy at the helm and seasoned minds like Cignetti in the room, Pittsburgh’s offensive brain trust is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing storylines heading into the offseason.