Alone. Head down. Possibly contemplating his future.
The only things missing were shackles and a pair of prison escorts.
It sure looked like a dead man walking.
In the aftermath of Pitt's season-opening 27-17 loss to Bowling Green at Heinz Field - a game where the Panthers held a statistical edge but were clearly outplayed the final three quarters, Cavanaugh and head coach Dave Wannstedt are taking the brunt of blame and criticism.
Generally speaking, coaches and quarterbacks receive too much criticism when things go wrong.
That's not the case with the latest embarrassing loss of the Wannstedt Era. The Bowling Green game goes down as one of Wannstedt's worst coaching performances at Pitt, with the type of decision making that had football fans in Chicago and Miami chuckling when Wannstedt was hired within weeks after Pitt played in the Fiesta Bowl.
Judging from the negative reaction to the old-school play calling of Pitt's offense, in addition to a handful of mind-boggling, confidence-deflating decisions, the coddling is over.
Thanks to three strong recruiting classes, Wannstedt remained in good graces with the masses. Now, he's facing a backlash not seen since Walt Harris had Tyler Palko slide at Connecticut in 2004.
Here's a small sampling of what happened Saturday:
n Twice in the first quarter, Pitt punted inside the Bowling Green 40-yard-line with a seven-point lead.
Not exactly the way to win over an offense rife with new starters.
Of course, the explanation sounded somewhat logical.
"There was consideration to go for it on fourth down in the first half," Wannstedt said. "I thought we were playing good defense. We played a field position game. I didn't want to give the ball to their offense. With their history, they are a veteran group and they know what they are doing."
n Pitt never showcased its "Wildcat" offense, the reason it recruited athletic quarterback Greg Cross.
n Pitt failed to look 15 yards past the line of scrimmage early against a Bowling Green defeated which blitzed nearly every play.
n The biggest gaffe? It came just before halftime after Bowling Green tied the game, 14-14.
On a second-and-10 at the Falcons' 20, Pitt ran a draw to LaRod Stephens-Howling. The play netted one yard.
Rather than take a shot at the end zone on third down, Pitt opted to let 25 valuable seconds tick away before calling time out with three seconds left. Conor Lee's 37-yard field goal put Pitt ahead, 17-14.
It's a decision that cost Pitt the game, its preseason ranking and possibly its season.
Brandon, a progressive offensive mind but not one to be confused for former Bowling Green head coach Urban Meyer, certainly wondered what Pitt was thinking.
"Our guys at halftime said, 'Coach, they ran the clock down. Why did they do that?' The kids said (Pitt) should have gone for it," Brandon said. "Our guys at halftime felt confident."
Brandon also hinted that offering constant motion and gimmicks confuses Pitt's defense, whether the opponent is Bowling Green or South Florida.
Read between the lines, and it's not difficult to deduce that Bowling Green thinks it's not to difficult to out-coach Pitt.
The staffs at Ohio, Connecticut, Navy and Rutgers probably think the same thing.
Pitt's history under Wannstedt doesn't offer much reason for optimism but it's not too late for these Panthers. The offense must expand its playbook, something that may happen if coaches get more comfortable with quarterback Bill Stull.
Will it happen? There's 11 games to get it figured out or search for employment elsewhere.
Mike Kovak can be reached at mkovak@observer-reporter.com.