University of North Carolina Athletics
Press Conferene Quotes From John Bunting & Frank Cignetti
January 3, 2006 | Football
Jan. 3, 2006
Opening statement from John Bunting
I'm proud to present to you a guy who I think is going to be a great source for our program in a number of ways. Frank Cignetti is somebody I have a great deal of confidence in. I've been around him before. I know people that he's worked for. I know his family and the pedigree that he brings to our football program. I think he has a unique way of teaching quarterbacks and implementing offensive philosophy and concepts. Frank Cignetti is going to be a great coach for us and I'm looking forward to working with him.
Opening statement from Frank Cignetti
I appreciate those kind words from Coach Bunting and the Cignetti family is very excited to be here in Chapel Hill. Coach Bunting made this thing happen. I have the utmost respect for Coach Bunting as a human being and as a football coach. I have great respect for him. He has great passion for this University and for life itself. Without John Bunting I wouldn't be sitting here. I was honored and flattered to be asked to come in and interview and then when coach offered me the job, we were just ecstatic. Having worked with John in New Orleans, I'm very excited to be a part of this staff.
The University of North Carolina, in my eyes, is second to none and I know John feels the same way. It's an honor to be here, it's an honor to live here and it's going to be an honor to coach here. The recruiting that Coach Bunting and myself and the offensive staff can hopefully bring to the football program...we hope to recruit the best athletes in the country. I think when John Bunting walks into a recruit's home, you have tremendous role model. You have a UNC grad. You have a man who talks about education and life skills. Every young man thinks about playing in the NFL, but the most important thing is getting an education. That's something that John has accomplished....getting an education at UNC and playing in the NFL. He coached at the highest level, he won a Super Bowl at the highest level and hopefully, we're going to win a national championship here at UNC. I can't think of a better role model out there coaching college football than John Bunting for a young man to sit down and talk to him about getting an education and if God gives you the ability to play in the National Football League and continue your career. The man has done it himself.
Our goal here at North Carolina is to be the best in the nation. We want to compete with the best in the ACC and the best in the nation.
Can you describe those methods of teaching a quarterback?
Everything starts in the classroom. As a football coach, you are a teacher and you teach the game of football. More specifically with the quarterback, you not only teach the entire game of football in terms of defenses and offensive strategies, but you also have to talk about ball mechanics, and footwork and eye discipline. It's just really a detailed training phase.
How will you get to know the quarterbacks currently on the team?
You want to get to know them as people, because it's a people business. I'm a teacher first and I have to get to know my pupils. I will watch as much tape as possible, get to know them and then make evaluations everyday of their progress through spring.
Please describe your offensive philosophy
I'll say it again, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for John Bunting. I've got great respect for him. I think he's as good a football coach as there is out there and we share a lot of the same common beliefs. Offensively, you have three phases. You have the running game. You have to have a physical, downhill running game. It's my belief that offensive football starts with running the ball. The second phase is you must be able to protect the quarterback to throw the football. Not only are we going to run the ball efficiently, but we have to protect the quarterback. The third phase, the passing game, you have to complete the ball. When you drop back to throw the ball, you have to protect the quarterback and then the quarterback and receiver got to make the throw and catch. There's a balance between those three phases. The philosophy itself is that you have to execute on offense. The bottom line on offense is that when we step on the field, we have to maximize scoring opportunities and you have to minimize mistakes. If we can maximize our scoring opportunities and minimize our mistakes and execute then we should be able to put points on the board. At the end of four quarters what really matters is that we have one more point than the opponent.
You were involved in a memorable game this year against Southern Cal. Describe what you were able to do against them
The first thing is we had great preparation. We had great belief in the plan, that we could execute the plan. We simply tried to take advantage of what USC was going to give us. We were very fortunate where we had an experienced quarterback and when USC approached the line of scrimmage we were able to exploit them with an audible package.
What are some of the other things about this job that appealed to you?
I am here because of John Bunting. That is the primary reason. I left a very good job. I had a great job at Fresno State. I was working for a great guy. It was a great place to live. But the opportunity to work for John Bunting, the trust and the respect that I have for him not only as a football coach but as a human being, speaks volumes for the Cignetti family here in Chapel Hill here today. When you put the formula of John Bunting with North Carolina and the resources that we have, I firmly believe that we can go out there and recruit the best athletes in America and compete for the ACC championship and hopefully the national championship one day.
