We've largely seen Mike Tomlin stick pretty much with what he knows or, should I say, who he knows when it comes to coaching hires.
His initial staff with the Steelers included a number of hires - outside of the people he kept - who were people with whom he had coached at previous stops.
But last year's hiring of Todd Haley as offensive coordinator was a step outside of that box. So, too, was Tomlin's hiring of Jack Bicknell Jr., as his new offensive line coach.
Looking at Bicknell's resume, it doesn't appear to have any direct ties to Tomlin or anyone else on his staff.
In fact, Bicknell, who has just four years of coaching experience at the NFL level, is something of fresh blood at this level.
The two stops he has made in the NFL - with the Giants from 2009-11 and Kansas City last season - have proven fruitful in different ways.
In New York, Bicknell helped coach a line that paved the way for a Super Bowl champion. In Kansas City, he coached a line that led one of the NFL's top rushing attacks despite the fact the Chiefs' QB situation was a mess.
With the Steelers, Bicknell inherits a line that includes promising young players Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Adams, David DeCastro, Kelin Beachum and Marcus Gilbert. All but Beachum, a seventh-round draft pick last year, were premium draft picks.
The onus will be on Bicknell to help those young players reach their full potential.
What a great opportunity. I hope he has some say in these guys getting in top shape before camp starts.
ReplyDelete9246I Agree OL need to be in shape to play this scheme and if they lose Starks think our next LT will have to be drafted
ReplyDeleteI wish they could keep Foster. Even Starks, although I see the logic in letting him walk with 2-3 first/second-year players who can play tackle. Just a little worried about depth with lineman (and others) being Gilberted left and right early last season.
ReplyDeleteOne out of Colon Starks and Foster has to stay
ReplyDeleteI mean come on what would our depth be then? And with our injury problems?
Don't be surprised if they let Starks and Foster walk and get Colon to take a pay cut. Cutting him outright only saves $1.2 million against the cap. Any salary reduction would be pure savings.
ReplyDeleteI hope we can keep Foster. He was so reliable at his spot.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we didn't just make the "safe" hire and pick up some guy who been coaching forever.
what do you think of the chatter regarding Clark being released or retiring? It looks like the cap savings would be huge, but he only has one year left.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think if he did let go, it would be because the coaching staff wants to get Cortez Allen on the field- even if that means playing him at FS.
I love Clark, but he does not produce TOs.
also, any chance we try to sign Jackie Battle on the cheap considering the new OL coach is familiar with his style.
ReplyDeleteJackie Battle was in San Diego last season, so other than playing against him twice, the new line coach doesn't really know him. Haley would have info on him though.
ReplyDeleteThe Clark report is a S T R E T C H to say the least. He's being cut so, so he's off Twitter? Silly. He's off Twitter because he's tired of defending himself every time he tweets something people don't like. Clark will not be cut.
my bad, dale. i saw that after i had already published my post.
ReplyDeletedo you think Battle is worth a look, or is he too old? i know you like that guy from Detroit.
Like many, I was really impressed by Lacy in the title game. However, with the NFL putting a premium on passing, does it really make sense to draft a RB in the 1st or even 2nd round anymore?
When is the cut-off for coaches and players to be in communication with one another? I'm wondering how much time, if any, does this new coach have to connect with the current players, communicate his expectations, etc before the offseason rules come into effect and the players are on their own to train? I sure hope that he can talk to Gilbert, Adams, Colon, Beachum, etc. to share his OLine philosophy to the point that these guys train accordingly and come to mini-camps and training camp in shape and ready to go.
ReplyDeleteTomlin should fire himself
ReplyDeleteafterall, the standard is the standard
Anonymous hit the nail on the head, Tomlin has clearly turned this franchise into utter garbage. What's the ETA on the LA Steelers?
ReplyDeleteIf I commented that Anonymous was an idiot... would I be offending one idiot or two?
ReplyDeleteLA Steelers is absolutely the dumbest thing I ever heard.
There is no cutoff for contact between players under contract and coaches.
ReplyDelete