The Pittsburgh Steelers are dealing with an identity crisis on the offensive side of the ball. They are so unbelievably lost that they might not find themselves before the end of the 2020 season.
When Pro Football Focus released their preseason rankings of offensive line units, the Steelers were at the bottom of the heap — with only the New York Giants ranked below.
The line has never quite been the same since Mike Munchak departed Pittsburgh for the Denver Broncos after the 2018 season. During his four-year stint with the Steelers, his units were hailed as the best in the league. In Munchak’s final season, the cohesion of his players went unmatched around the NFL.
After Munchak moved on, the Steelers promoted his assistant Shawn Sarrett, and the line tanked. When Sarrett was canned, the Steelers promoted Sarrett’s assistant, Adrian Klemm, in February. From schemes to protections, Klemm has done nothing to improve the unit. They are, in his defense, a young group with little NFL experience.
Former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley said that coaches like Mike Munchak are very hard to come by and has concern for a unit that’s on its second coach in three seasons. “You don’t just learn how to coach a group of guys like an offensive line overnight. You better have experience,” Haley said on SiriusXM NFL Radio’s “The Opening Drive.”
“Right now, I just think you’re seeing all those things come together in a perfect storm of a new line, a new center, new coordinator, new line coach. It doesn’t usually spell success… No disrespect to [Adrian Klemm].
Haley said he means no disrespect to Klemm, but ‘Mike Munchaks just don’t fall off a tree.’ “He’s really, really good,” Haley said. “I think you’re seeing the benefits of him in Denver now.”
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