When Mike Munchak was hired by the Steelers in 2014, they were still struggling to deliver what team president Art Rooney II wanted most from his offensive line. Two years earlier, after the 2011 season, Rooney did not renew the contract of offensive coordinator Bruce Arians at least in part because quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was getting sacked and hit too often.
During the final three seasons of Arians’ tenure, Roethlisberger was sacked 50, 43 and 42 times. New coordinator Todd Haley had the directive to better protect the franchise quarterback, but there was little change in his first two seasons on the job. Roethlisberger was sacked 37 times in 2012, the final season for offensive line coach Sean Kugler, and 43 again in 2013 during the one and only season for line coach Jack Bicknell III.
It wasn’t until Munchak arrived that the sack totals began to decline. Roethlisberger was sacked an average of 27 times a season during Munchak’s five years with the Steelers. Over the past three seasons, Roethlisberger was never sacked more than 24 times in a season. No wonder Roethlisberger asked fans to write letters to Munchak asking him to stay.
Munchak had terrific continuity with his starting five from season to season, but he was adept at making adjustments when his linemen were injured or suspended. He had to play an entire season without center Maurkice Pouncey in 2015. Then midway through that season, first-year player Alejandro Villanueva, who had been on the practice squad a year earlier, took over at left tackle when Kelvin Beachum suffered a season-ending knee injury.
The line persevered through it all. With Cody Wallace at center and Villanueva protecting Roethlisberger’s blind side, the Steelers allowed just 33 sacks and finished the season with a 4.4 yards-per-carry team rushing average, the best rushing average of Munchak’s tenure.
The past two seasons Munchak had to play most of the season with a backup playing at right tackle because Marcus Gilbert was injured or suspended. Chris Hubbard and Matt Feiler, former undrafted free agents, stepped into the starting lineup and performed well. Hubbard played so well he signed a $35 million contract to become a starter for the Browns. Feiler very well could have played himself into a starting role next season.
In addition, the Steelers never missed a beat when backup interior lineman B.J. Finney, yet another former undrafted free agent, filled in for left guard Ramon Foster the past two seasons. Since 2016, the Steelers are 8-1 when Finney starts. The offense, especially the running game, actually improved when Finney started, which is one reason he is likely to replace Foster, a 33-year old unrestricted free agent.
New offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett will be tasked with keeping this unit among the best in the league.
“I think he’ll do really well,” Munchak said. “We’ve been together five years. He showed me the ropes when I came in. He had been with a couple different line coaches. He was a big part of everything I was doing. His role grew quite a bit every year as far as being in front of the group and on the field. When you have 10-12 guys, 15 in camp, I believe in giving them all a lot of attention, so we split up the guys quite a bit. We’re very similar in what we believe in.”
Munchak believes Sarrett’s experience and their similar philosophies will help make for a seamless transition.
“Those guys really respect him, they’ll play for him,” Munchak said. “The best part with me leaving, they’re left in great hands. I always thought as a lineman, that’s the hardest thing is to have new coach after new coach come in. He’ll be able to pick up where he and I left off and just add to it and continue to develop these guys. The room’s in a great, great situation. Our best years with Pounce and these guys in maybe their last quarter of their career, their best football is coming and lot of young guys with Hawkins and Chuks and Matt and Finney, you have some great players in that room and some young guys who will push the other guys. He has a great situation. I’m going to enjoy watching them play.”
Protecting Roethlisberger, who will be 37 in March, remains a top priority. He’ll also be asked to improve a slumping running game that languished for much of 2018.
The Steelers never became a dominant running team under Munchak despite the presence of running back Le’Veon Bell, who twice earned first-team All-Pro honors. They were never a top-10 rushing team in yards-per-game average and only once, in that 2015 season, did they finish in the top in 10 in yards-per-carry average.
The low rushing totals can be explained, in part, due to the Steelers morphing into a passing team in the past five years. They threw the ball more this past season than any other team, and it was by a wide margin.
The Steelers threw the ball 689 times, 45 more than the next-closest team. As a result, the Steelers finished 31st in the NFL in rushing, averaging just 90.3 rushing yards per game.
The slant toward passing, however, does not explain away the low yards-per-carry averages during Munchak’s tenure. When the Steelers did run the ball the past few seasons, they weren’t very efficient.
The 4.2 yards-per-carry average this past season ranked 20th in the league. In 2017, the 3.8 average was 25th in the league. And that came with a healthy Bell as the feature back.
Sarrett takes over at a crucial time. The Steelers have a line that is in transition. Four starters remain under contract. All four are 29 or older.
Gilbert, who is 31, might be released. If so, Feiler, 26, or Chukwuma Okorafor, 21, will be asked to be a full-time starter.
The continuity that gave the Steelers such an edge over the past several seasons will be tested. Sarrett’s advantage is he’s been with the team for the duration of Munchak’s tenure. He knows what the players do well and where they struggle.
That will help during next season when the offense could be going through a transition, especially if disgruntled receiver Antonio Brown is traded.
That would put a renewed emphasis on the running game, or at the very least a renewed emphasis toward running the ball more efficiently. Back in 2010, Rooney gave another directive to coach Mike Tomlin and his staff:
"I think Mike and I certainly agreed coming off the season that we need to run the ball more consistently to get to where we want to get to," Rooney said days after the 2009 season ended. "So that's part of the thinking in the offseason: We need to figure out how to get better running the football. We have to get back to being able to run the football when we need to run the football, and being able to run more consistently than we have in the past season.”
Those words came after a 9-7 season that did not include the playoffs. The Steelers made it back to the Super Bowl the following season. They went from 19th in the league in rushing to 11th.
Rooney is expected to address reporters later this week. If he has a similar request this year, it will be up to Sarrett to make an impact where Munchak could not.
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: January 15, 2019, 4:56 p.m.
