December 23, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers receivers coach Scottie Montgomery on the sidelines against the Cincinnati Bengals during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Cincinnati Bengals won 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Steelers have lost another assistant coach to bigger and better things.  WR Coach Scottie Montgomery has left the team to become the offensive coordinator for the Duke Blue Devils.  This comes on the heals of the Steelers losing Sean Kugler, the offensive line coach, to the head coaching job at UTEP.  That slot was quickly filled by Jack Bicknell Jr.  How long it will take the team to find a new receivers coach is unclear.

Montgomery wasn’t with the Steelers for very long.  He was the receivers coach for Duke until 2010 when the Steelers hired him on.  Montgomery seemed to have an immediate impact as he quickly groomed a young receiving core that had obvious raw talent.  Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders had good rookie seasons, and Antonio Brown found himself high on the depth charts in 2011.  He was the first receiver to record over 1,000 yards receiving and over 1,000 yards in punt/kick returns in the same season.  It was obvious that he was becoming a fast learner of routes, and was consistent in finding holes in zone defenses.  Emmanuel Sanders appeared to have the same kind of talent Brown did, but a few nagging injuries kept him limited in 2010 and 2011.  However, in 2012, Sanders racked up over 600 yards in receiving and would have been a continued target for Big Ben (if it weren’t for those damn hands sometimes).

One could argue that Sanders and Brown brought that success all on their own.  And even if that was true, you can’t deny that Montgomery did a pretty good job keeping the young guys productive and continued their development.  There is the sore spot of one young Mike Wallace.  Wallace had very good and solid three seasons. There was the problem of being hot hot hot in the first half of the season, then disappearing almost altogether in 2011.  That put his ‘big money’ demand into skepticism, and landed him in hot water with the team and fans when he decided to hold out in camp in 2012.  I don’t really think any of that is/was Montgomery’s fault, and is more of a case of a young receiver with a bad agent whispering in his ear.

Montgomery should have success while at Duke, and we at NPC wish him nothing but the best.  The Blue Devils had their first Bowl appearance in 2012 since 1995.  David Cutcliffe is doing good things with that program, and I expect that Montgomery will only add to that success.

Now the question becomes – Will the absence of Montgomery hurt the Steelers?  I think it depends on the coach they get.  Like I stated earlier, if Montgomery wasn’t directly responsible for the success of the receivers, he at least did a fine job of keeping them from falling apart.  The Steelers will need to find another coach who works well with then young players.  Brown and Sanders are still young, and there are some others like David Gilreath who have potential.

It's time to play, where's Mike Wallace. Can you find him in this picture?

OTA’s are winding down.  Here’s a bunch of news to wrap up the end of another grueling work week.

I’m not obsessed about Mike Wallace.  Really, I’m not.  It’s just that he keeps popping up in the news – the way a meerkat pops up out of the ground then hides back down for a few moments before popping back up again.  Maybe a meerkat would sign his $2 million tender….  Colbert was on a Siruis radio show today and said the organization is still in talks with Bus ‘Bullheaded’ Cook about Wallace’s contract as well as this:

“Mike is someone who has stated he wants to be here, and we certainly want him.”  - Kevin Colbert

Well Kevin, unless you and Mr. Kahn have some Jedi mind tricks up your sleeve to make Cook think that Mike Wallace is not the face of this franchise and is someone other than Larry Fitzgerald, then you may very well be reducing that tender come June 15th.  My guess is that at 11:55pm on June 14th that tender will be signed.  But, we’ll have to wait and see.

Coach, 8 just comes naturally after 7. Honestly, that's why I'm wearing this. Starks? Oh that guy? Ummmm..... Courtesy mysanantonio.com

Ben Roethlisberger on Thursday wore a #78 jersey once again.  He did the same thing last season during training camp after Starks was cut.  Starks is Ben’s big buddy and #7 vouched for Starks (nearly pleaded) to return.  It eventually happened to the tune of a one year deal.  Starks injured himself once again this past season and is looking at a return near the end of training camp.  The Steelers appear to be reticent to sign him a deal, even if it’s another one year veteran minimum salary.  Was Roethlisberger making another statement this time around?

“He’s my draft-class guy, blocker mate, just in honor of him.”  - Ben Roethlisberger

Apparently not.  But, I think he’s giving the coaches a nudge again that even though the line is going to be way better than it has been in years, he still wants his go to left tackle back in his spot.

Apparently, Brown has been running this same route for the last 36 hours straight.... Courtesy steelers.com

Antonio Brown strives to be one of the best receivers in the NFL, everyday, all day.  His motto in life is C.U.E.U.P.U – chest up, eyes up, prayed up.  Turns out, according to wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery, that Brown needs to add a Rest Up to that motto.  C.U.E.U.P.U.R.U .  A little longer but it works.

“I don’t doubt any day when Antonio Brown wakes up that he’s not trying to be the number one player in the world. That’s exactly when he wakes up, he is trying to be the number one player in the world.

….he is a guy that wakes up at 6am and starts working out, and doesn’t stop working out until about 10pm.  So what he needs to understand is, from a professional standpoint, professional development sometimes happens through rest.”  - Scottie Montgomery

A.B. – how about a few more games of Madden each night?  Or how about taking in a movie?  30 Rock? Crocheting?  Just put those feet up, buddy, and give them a rest.  No one will bust your chops for doing that.  The Steelers and Steeler Nation need you to last for a long time.