The 2018 off-season will forever be remembered by Pittsburgh Steelers fans as an off-season of loss. Two of the league’s best playmakers, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown are no longer wearing the black and gold. But there’s another off-season loss that will dictate the Steelers future.
The third departure is the loss of offensive line coach Mike Munchak, who departed for the Denver Broncos. Munchak’s contributions to the Steelers will be shadowed by the departure of Bell and Brown but his role in developing the offensive line into the best in the league cannot be overlooked.
Under Mike Munchak’s tutelage, the Steelers offensive line became the best in the NFL per Pro Football Focus in 2018. He turned Alejandro Villanueva, an ex-receiver, defensive end, and Army Ranger into a premier left tackle. He helped develop first-round draft pick David DeCastro into the Pro Bowler DeCastro is today.
Also, he got great performances from backups like Chris Hubbard, B.J. Finney, Matt Feiler when his starters couldn’t go. Munchak was tasked with the long-term development of tackles Jerald Hawkins and Chukwuma Okorafor who were widely considered the heirs to Marcus Gilbert at the right tackle position. That is until Feiler solidified it as his own during the 2018 campaign.
To put Munchak’s impact into perspective, Bell averaged 2.55 yards before contact and Conner averaged 2.89 yards before contact during the 2017 and 2018 seasons respectively. League leaders over that time period; Todd Gurley and Zeke Elliott averaged 2.91 yards after contact. Essentially, behind Munchak’s line, Conner, was one of the least touched running back’s in the NFL. Bell’s numbers most likely would have been higher had he not logged an astounding 337 rushes in 2017.
Also, remember, Roethlisberger was contemplating retirement before signing his last contract extension. Now with Munchak’s coached up offensive line guarding him, the Steelers and Roethlisberger are negotiating a new extension. That is after Roethlisberger led the NFL in passing and was sacked third least in the league among quarterbacks that started all 16 games.
Yes, in 16 games opposing defenses only sacked Roethlisberger 21 times. Pretty impressive for a quarterback with a reputation for holding onto the ball longer than he should. I guess having three pro bowlers protecting him on the offensive line doesn’t hurt.
Players come and go. Even generational talents like Bell and Brown. But the holes Bell ran through and the balls Brown caught in Pittsburgh were made possible by the Steelers offensive line dominating the line of scrimmage. Unlike with Bell and Brown there is no free agency or draft to help compensate for the loss of Munchak. In 2019 the Steelers have opted to go with Shaun Sarrett as their offensive line coach. He’s spent the last six seasons working with the Steelers offensive line and the last five working directly under Munchak.
Hopefully, the offensive linemen continue to grow under his tutelage. Look for the offensive line to be the Steelers unit that sets the tone with their gritty play. Ideally, they take 2018’s transitions with a positive, drama-free approach, and hopefully, the rest of the team follows suit.
