Schefter: Steelers Hire Mike Munchak as OL Coach
Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, the Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly replaced Jack Bicknell, Jr. with the best offensive line coach still on the open market last night:
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/426167010926788608
As I alluded to last week, I believe that this move is an enormous step in the right direction for the future of Pittsburgh’s young offensive line. In my own humble opinion, the fact that the Steelers were even able to lure an offensive line coach of Mike Munchak’s caliber is nothing short of remarkable.
The Hall of Fame guard and former Penn State Nittany Lion spent the entirety of his professional playing and coaching career with the Houston/Tennessee Oilers/Titans organization. Overall, Munchak spent 1982-1993 as a player, 1994-1996 as an offensive quality control coach, 1997-2010 as the team’s offensive line coach and from 2011-2013 as Tennessee’s head coach.
Munchak will inherit a talented yet rather inexperienced offensive line in Pittsburgh. Maurkice Pouncey is a three-time Pro Bowl honoree, David DeCastro is primed to make at least one trip to Hawai’i and Ramon Foster is a steady presence at left guard.
Although the interior is rather stable, Munchak will have to find solutions to Pittsburgh’s problems at the tackle positions. Will Kelvin Beachum be the long-term answer on the left side? Will Mike Adams be allowed to challenge Marcus Gilbert for the starting right tackle spot? Those questions are just a couple of the pressing ones that the veteran offensive line coach will have to answer over the coming months.
At this point, biggest concern with Munchak does not center around whether or not he will be successful as the Steelers’ offensive line coach. In fact, it more or less has to do with how long he will stay in town if he finishes what has been a long and arduous rebuilding process along the offensive line for Pittsburgh.
Munchak represents an enormous upgrade over Jack Bicknell, Jr., and I am extremely excited to see if the Scranton native can turn things around in the offensive trenches for the Steelers.
Stats & Contract Info. Provided By: ESPN.com, Steelers.com, Spotrac and Pro Football Reference
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