Mike Munchak, the quiet Steeler tutor: Major improvement has been the O Line



… Scranton native returned to Pa. and made major contribution 

To achieve success in sports, teachers are essential. Chuck Noll used to talk about himself as being an NFL teacher, a person who gave players direction, albeit in his own quiet way.

Such is the case for a quiet member of Coach Mike Tomlin's staff, the one who is rarely seen or heard from but whose tutoring has made major improvement in a significant way this season.

Mike Munchak

Mike Munchak is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame for his performance as a member of the Houston Oilers a few decades ago. He was named to the Pro Bowl nine times, a first-team all-pro four times, a second-team all-pro nine times as an offensive guard out of Penn State.

Teacher

As his playing career ended, Munchak continued to work for the Oilers who then moved to Tennessee. He developed a tremendous reputation of teaching linemen how to block for running backs and protect quarterbacks.

He then became the head coach of the Titans after Jeff Fisher left, but struggled for three years. He was fired after the 2013 season, which led him to return to Pa. and become the line coach for offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who was really concerned about protecting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Improvement

Since he became line coach for the Steelers, Munchak has seen the running game improve and the number of sacks decrease. The Steelers allowed 43 sacks in 2013 the year before Munchak arrived, the line gave up just 21 this year in the regular season.

Munchak has been a great tutor for a young player like Alejandro Villaneuva, the left tackle who is starting in just his second season. Two players on that line, both number 1 picks, made the Pro Bowl this year, guard David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey.

Class act

However, what is great about Munchak is that, unlike one Steeler assistant, few people hear or see him. He is unobtrusive. He works hard with his guys on the field and in the film room, but he has received little commendation for the improvement in the line play -- the run game and the pass protection.

When he was with the Titans, he was told to fire six assistant coaches in his third year. He refused to do that to so many, and he was fired. He is a quiet, loyal guy who just wants to teach.

Munchak is a throwback to the class acts of the past in Steeler history.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering the toughest loss I ever experienced in approximately a quarter-century of coaching football. George Pasierb was a great coaching adversary.

Image
R.I.P. George Pasierb, 1946-2020 Shade-Central City High School football coach Photo: Tribune-Democrat No high school football fan could ask for anything better than this. On a beautiful sunny, warm afternoon on Saturday, October 30, 1982, in Nanty Glory, Pa., the battle featured a clash of two undefeated titans of the Appalachian Conference.  One was the preseason unanimous favorite to win the title, the other a veritable surprise that season, one that had built an 8-0 record entering that game.  This battle lived up to the pre-game hype, ending in a one-point decision that was not certain until the final play of the game.  I thought of this because the coach of the powerful Shade-Central City High School Panthers, George Pasierb, passed away earlier this week. He coached the Panthers for 20 years, but his best team was arguably that 1982 team that battled the Blacklick Valley Vikings on that Saturday afternoon before more than 3,000 ebullient fans.  And, the one-po...
Read more

Why did Tennessee-Chattanooga hire trainer Tim Bream despite his role in the alcohol-induced death of Tim Piazza at a Penn State frat?

Image
… was a live-in advisor at the fraternity On paper, Tim Bream has an impressive resume. Actually, very impressive — up to a point. That seems to be when Bream’s life appears to careen out of control. Bream, who resigned as Penn State trainer in Feb.,  was a graduate of Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, specializing in athletic training. He then attended West Virginia as a grad assistant trainer, where he received a master’s degree in Physical Education with an emphasis on Sports Science. All of this information is from his bio on the Penn State athletic site. He then worked his way up the ladder impressively, working at Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and finally at the University of Richmond, where he was the Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer. Then he received his big break, being name as Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Chicago Bears in 1993, and four years later, Head Athletic Trainer. He was with the Bears for 19 years when inexplicably,...
Read more

Why did Mike Tomlin start hiring black coaches after 15 years?

Image
Brian Flores … hiring Flores probably rankled Goodell To place this into context, understand that the only reason that the Steelers hired Mike Tomlin 15 years ago is because he was black.  Why? He had never even been a coordinator anywhere, never in the NFL. The only reason that he was interviewed was because of the “Rooney Rule.” That rule is one named after the late Dan Rooney who led the effort to force every NFL team to interview at least one black coach when it had head coaching openings.  The Steelers had focused their coaching search after Bill Cowher left on Ron Rivera, then a defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears. Their interview with Tomlin was a peremptory one, something to satisfy the smell test.  After all, why interview a guy who was just a defensive coach? Coordinators are the people who are hired for the big gig.  Tomlin, though, is a great talker, and he wooed Dan Rooney so much that he was hired for the position.  Which begs the q...
Read more