Adaptability is key up front
When the Steelers selected Chukwuma Okorafor in the third round of the 2018 draft, offensive line coach Mike Munchak came into themedia room at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex and spoke about how excited he was to work with the raw but talented 20-year-old who left Western Michigan early to pursue his NFL dreams.
The plan was for Munchak to develop Okorafor as he had so many other linemen during his Steelers tenure, but Munchak left the Steelers nine months later to take a job with the Denver Broncos. Now, as he gets set to begin his fifth season with the Steelers, Okorafor is being instructed by his fifth offensive line coach.
After Munchak left, head coach Mike Tomlin promoted Shaun Sarrett, who held the job for two seasons. He was let go and replaced by Adrian Klemm last year. Klemm left in December to take a job at the University of Oregon, and assistant offensive line coach Chris Morgan coached Okorafor for the remainder of the season.
Now it’s Pat Meyer, hired in February to replace Morgan, who will try to bring some much-needed stability to the offensive line room.
“At the end of the day, it’s a business,” said Okorafor, who is entering his third season as the starting right tackle. “Everyone has a family to take care of or the opportunity to move on to a new job. I don’t take that too hard. Yeah, it’s easier to have the same group of players and coaches for two, four, eight or 10 years. But no one cares if I have one coach for 10 years or 10 coaches over two years. They just want me to do well.”
Those are the words of a player who has come to understand the business of the NFL. Okorafor developed in spite of the revolving door of coaches. In March, the Steelers signed him to a threeyear contract worth $29 million.
Okorafor did well on his second contract, but the Steelers offensive line on the whole has been disappointing throughout most of the past five years. They haven’t finished better than 25th in the NFL in rushing in any of the past five seasons, and last season the pass protection, which had been a strength for so many years, began to fall apart, too.
Guard Kevin Dotson is on his fourth coach in three years. He’s never had an offensive line coach in place for more than 10 months.
“You’re expected to adapt if you’re going to play in the league,” Dotson said. “It would be nice to have [stability], but you have to do what you have to do.”
During OTAs and minicamp, the offensive linemen are getting used to Meyer’s coaching style. Meyer spends a lot of time with his players on the whiteboard, diagramming plays and the technique he requires. Klemm was more hands-on during practice.
“They definitely do different things,” Dotson said. “He’s a little more informative. He takes a lot of time to sit down and show you how he wants it. Adrian was still good. He just had a different way of teaching. It’s going to change. I’m a person who needs to walk through a play just so I can get the steps right in my mind. Some guys can teach you on the board better. It just depends on what type of teacher you are.”
Guard James Daniels is new to the Steelers this year after signing as a free agent in March, but he also has experienced significant turnover among his offensive line coaches. A secondround pick of the Bears in 2018 from Iowa, Daniels is on his third offensive line coach.
“The biggest thing Pat does is instill in us to play together,” Daniels said. “Communicating and making sure if the guy next to you doesn’t know what he’s doing, tell him what to do. He’s been really good about us communicating and making sure we’re on the right page. Even if we’re wrong, we’re all wrong together. There have been times when people haven’t been blocked [in previous years], and there have been big plays [for the defense]. So he’s just focusing on that we all play together and we all communicate.”
Harry Hiestand was Daniels’ offensive line coach for his first two seasons in Chicago and Juan Castillo was his coach for his final two seasons there. Hiestand taught the same tried and true techniques that Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz did with the Hawkeyes.
Ferentz’s mentors were legendary line coaches Joe Moore and Dan Radakovich, and the same principles he learned from them 40 years ago are still being taught today across college football and the NFL.
“It’s different,” Daniels said. “What coach Hiestand coached was very similar to the technique I was taught at Iowa. When I got to Chicago, I had been doing the same thing. Juan was teaching differently than coach Hiestand, so that was a little transition. But then coming back to coach Meyer, he is very similar to coach Hiestand and what I was taught at Iowa. It’s been nice going back to what I’ve done in the past.
“I remember Bad Rad came to our OTAs and camp in Chicago. They’re the founding fathers of offensive line play. It’s very cool they passed down what they were taught. Their stuff works, and it’s worked for a long time.”
While adaptability is a prerequisite to play in the NFL, Daniels believes continuity among players and offensive line coaches is important not only in the development of teams, but for the personal growth of players.
While learning different ways of doing things is something all NFL players encounter, there is something to be said for players being comfortableand confident in what they are being taught.
“I’m really not a fan when people say there are a thousand roads that lead to Rome,” Daniels said. “Yeah, there are a thousand, but one is always faster. There is always a better way or the best way to do something. I like that I have coaches who understand that and want to make my job easier.”