The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to have some changes on the coaching staff during the 2024 offseason. The first order of business will be hiring a competent offensive coordinator who can get the absolute most out of an extremely talented offense. Once the franchise comes to a conclusion on who that will be, dominos could start to fall and lead to other changes. A new play-caller may ask that several names not on the staff in 2023 are recruited to help turn the offense around. It remains to be seen how much more change, if any, will occur for the Steelers as the offseason gets started.
One area of the Steelers' offense that has had ups and downs in the last few seasons has been the big men up front blocking. The offensive line may have made improvements in 2023 as Isaac Seumalo and Broderick Jones provided some consistency, but the center play was abysmal and the futures of Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor are up in the air.
Fans are most likely indifferent on the prospect of offensive line coach Pat Meyer hanging around for 2024. He takes a lot of heat for his unit's performance, but isn't the worst in the league at his level. One name that would have Steelers' fans' ears perking up is one who helped lead a dominant group from 2014-18. Mike Munchak held the position during that timeframe when Pittsburgh was 54-25-1 in regular season contests.
Munchak ended up leaving to be closer to his family and took the same position with the Denver Broncos. However, it was reported on by Paul Kuharsky's website via Zach Piller (a former Titans offensive lineman), that Munchak is willing to consider heading back to coach for the Tennessee Titans. There, he led as the offensive line coach from 1999 to 2010, and then as head coach from 2011-2013. That hints at the fact that he would consider heading East to take a coaching gig.
Kuharsky, a beat writer for the Titans, confirmed Piller's comments on 104.5 the Zone recently.
"I learned this in early December when Mike Vrabel was still head coach. Munchak, who lives in the Denver area and hasn’t worked since a three-year term with the Broncos that concluded in 2021, said if Vrabel had an opening, he would be interested in that. He'd also consider a handful of other select openings around the league based on head coaches and geography."
It makes sense why he might be interested in a return to Nashville, as he was a member of the Tennessee Oilers organization before the Titans were born. His time in Pittsburgh was much shorter, but there's no guarantee the new head coach for the Titans will be interested in having him. He has experience with Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin during his time in the Steel City.
Munchak wasn't only out of football for a period of time because of family. Kuharsky mentioned that he underwent knee surgery and took himself out of the job market. Munchak is apparently ready to coach again if the right opportunity presents itself. He helped create a dominant force up front in Pittsburgh while he was with the Steelers and Tennessee may not be his only option if he wants to coach in the NFL again.
Steelers Might Be The Right Fit For Munchak Once Again
Steeler Nation has made calls for the team to reach out to Munchak in recent years, but it was expected that he desired to be on the West Coast near his two daughters and grandchildren. If he's reportedly willing to make the move back to Tennessee, it's a reasonable expectation that Pittsburgh could be a fit as well if the Titans' new coaching staff isn't interested in his services.
Would you be in love with the idea of Munchak returning to coach the Steelers' offensive line?
More must-reads: