The Pittsburgh Steelers overhaul of the offensive staff continued on Monday with the hire/promotion of Adrian Klemm as offensive line coach.
While there was a bit of optimism in recent weeks that the Steelers might actually hire someone outside of the organization, it should come as no surprise that they didn’t. That’s just not how they roll.
New blood is always a case of trial and error and Klemm’s coaching experience is minimal. For an offense that needs a ton of tweaking, promoting an individual with two years’ experience as an assistant coach is discouraging — especially considering he’s assisting a coach with just one year of pro experience in Matt Canada.
But, hey, coaches have to start somewhere, right?
All Steelers Nation can do is hope Klemm improves the line (insert fingers crossed emoji).
Though Black and Gold faithful are skeptical of Klemm. He was, after all, part of the staff the coached a horrible O-line. Though as an assistant, his responsibilities were largely with rookies, and guard Kevin Dotson has a strong first season — this without training camp.
Fans may be upset, but former and current players are praising the promotion.
Want to know a bit about the new OL coach? Here’s the skinny:
Klemm was a four-year starter at left tackle at the University of Hawaii and was drafted 46th overall by the New England Patriots in 2000 — he was Bill Belichick’s first-ever Patriots draft selection.
In five seasons with the Patriots, Klemm appeared in 26 games with 10 starts and was part of three Super Bowl championship teams. His final season as a Green Bay Packer yielded 16 games and eight starts in 2005.
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Klemm got his coaching feet wet as a graduate assistant with the SMU Mustangs in 2008, where June Jones, his former head coach at Hawaii, was leading the team. He moved up quickly and was named offensive line coach after one season.
In 2011, Klemm accepted an offer as offensive line coach and run game coordinator for the UCLA Bruins under coach Jim Mora, Jr. He was elevated to associate head coach in 2014 and left UCLA in 2017.
In 2019, Klemm landed his first pro gig as Steelers assistant offensive line coach under former offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett.
Both Klemm and Canada have a monumental task ahead of them to continue the line’s pass protection efficiency while improving run blocking — with personnel who could be vastly different from the 2020 season, including starting running back.
The line was criticized in recent years for a lack of physicality. It did close to nothing to open up run lanes for James Conner and company in 2019 and 2020.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. The process, including renovating the line, could take a couple of seasons.
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