An earlier report was made official on Monday morning, with Pete Thamel confirming that the Oregon Ducks are bringing in Adrian Klemm to be their new offensive line coach under Dan Lanning. On top of that, Klemm will also serve as an assistant coach for the team, as well as taking over as the run game coordinator.
That sounds like a lot of responsibility for a single coach, but once you find out more about Klemm, you’ll understand why he is the man for the job. So who is Adrian Klemm?
In short, Klemm is the former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach. He’s been with the Steelers since 2019 and worked well at the NFL level, learning under highly-respected head coach Mike Tomlin. Before that, Klemm had extensive experience at the college level, working as the run game coordinator and associate head coach for the UCLA Bruins. Before that, he was the O-Line coach and recruiting coordinator for the SMU Mustangs.
Prior to his coaching tenure, Klemm was a highly successful NFL player, winning a trio of Super Bowls with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the early 2000s.
So why is this a great hire for the Ducks? Well, simply because it tells us two main things about Dan Lanning and the program as a whole. First, it shows that Lanning is looking for experienced coaches who have proven that they can get the job done at a high level. Klemm has experience in the NFL, and his reputation as a recruiter should not be ignored. He is yet another coach with great recruiting ties both in Texas and on the west coach.
Second, it can’t be ignored what a big deal it is for an NFL offensive line coach to come to college to take the same position. That shows the type of weight that Oregon can have on the national landscape. Of course, Klemm has a couple of other hats to wear on top of his OL duties, but the fact that he would come back to college for anything short of a coordinator position is encouraging for Duck fans. That means there is excitement about what Lanning is building in Eugene, and people want to get on board.
We will see how things play out over the next few weeks and the rest of the coaching staff is filled out, but early on, signs are really encouraging for the Ducks as Dan Lanning continues to add impactful pieces to the staff.
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