Offensive Coaching and Personnel Discussion.

[Born2Steel]

Pat Meyer OL coach. He was OL coach for the Chargers and Bears both before being hired by the Steelers. Both of those OL were ranked top half to top 10 in rushing production and fewest sacks allowed under Meyer. His '21 Panthers team got hit with the injury bug resulting in 14 different OL starting combinations. Not a good year stats-wise but I would call it more of incomplete. Starting his 3rd season.

Isaac Williams assistant OL coach. His experience is as a collegiate OL coach/run game coordinator. His 2 years with the Steelers is his only NFL experience. I wonder how much we are using him as a run game coordinator. Starting his 3rd season.

Mike Sullivan Head Offensive Assistant. NFL experience at OC/offensive play caller, QB Coach, and WR Coach. 20 years total experience. Starting his 4th season.

Arthur Smith OC. 11 years and 4HCs with the Titans ending his career there as OC. His 2 seasons as OC his offense was top 5 ranked in the NFL. His offense averaged 2.8pts/drive. His 2 seasons as HC of the Falcons his offense was the 3rd ranked rushing offense. 14 years NFL experience coaching offense. Starting his 2nd season.


The point of all this is to point out these coaches have experience and have had success. The longest tenured with the Steelers is entering his 4th season on staff. It is my opinion we have a good enough offensive coaching staff to be successful. Khan, Weidl, and Tomlin are putting the pieces together through the draft and FA. I have said this before, and I'll repeat myself here, the Steelers will be competing for the SB before the end of the 2027 season.

You guys remember when Justin Herbert looked like the next big thing? That was when Tom Arth was his QB Coach. Now he's our QB coach.

[lipps83]

I like the optimism. It is refreshing to see.

I have had the thinking for a while that they are really wanting to get back to just smashmouth football and are sticking to that vision despite the limited successes so far. That has always kind of been the identity of the franchise since the 70's and where they have seen the most success. I just think it is taking longer than maybe they and others had anticipated to get to where they want to be. Most of the blueprint would be in place, just nothing seems to be clicking quite just yet.

I think that may be why they are seeming to be so stubborn to do anything that the fans and so-called-by-the-media-themselves 'experts' are expecting them to do.

It's possible that they might even believe they have the right people in most of the right places and are maybe just missing a thing here or there to make it all work and aren't just being 'resistant to change'.

Just some thoughts.

[Born2Steel]

I like the optimism. It is refreshing to see.

I have had the thinking for a while that they are really wanting to get back to just smashmouth football and are sticking to that vision despite the limited successes so far. That has always kind of been the identity of the franchise since the 70's and where they have seen the most success. I just think it is taking longer than maybe they and others had anticipated to get to where they want to be. Most of the blueprint would be in place, just nothing seems to be clicking quite just yet.

I think that may be why they are seeming to be so stubborn to do anything that the fans and so-called-by-the-media-themselves 'experts' are expecting them to do.

It's possible that they might even believe they have the right people in most of the right places and are maybe just missing a thing here or there to make it all work and aren't just being 'resistant to change'.

Just some thoughts.

I believe we have a plan in place and we have seen the emphasis on OL. I would not be shocked if the Steelers take another LT if the right guy falls to pick 21. This seems to be the focus of the current build. We still do not know what we have at LT. Fautanu was injured and BroJo looks serviceable at best. A true dominator at LT would fix a lot of OL woes.

Whatever the experiment with the last OC, he has been replaced with an accomplished OC. From everything I have read on Smith, he is a run first with lots of PA play caller. This does fall in line with the public declaration that the Steelers want to build a strong run game. I expect RB to also be a draft priority. Until we change the RB philosophy from previous drafts, I see us taking a 220+LB RB from this draft.

One thing that is still lacking is the QB. There has to be the threat of the passing game for the run game to be successful, and therefore open up the passing game even more. I think George Pickens should be getting 10-15 targets every game. IMO, if we can get a big 'X' to keep out there in combo(I would love Tre Harris), our WR room will be very good to elite. I also like the idea of letting Arth concentrate on Justin Fields and seeing how much he can improve within the same system 2 years in a row. He's never had that in his career so far.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

The O line just doesnt play with any real physicality in the run game and the IOL gets pushed into the QB in the pass game, where the QB has to run and escape the pocket or get sacked, hit. As a Steeler fan for 5 decades, I am used to expecting the Steelers O line be physical. I am now used to the going into games and being pushed around.

They have the talent. Something is up and I've really leaning towards it being Meyer.

[Dwinsgames]

old coaches take a huge hit in this article but it praises Pat Meyer for whatever reason ...

https://steelersdepot.com/2025/02/fo...ayers-instead/

[Mojouw]

I am seeing very different numbers for Meyer. Doesn't mean the others mentioned in this thread are incorrect, just that I am looking in a different place.

From what I am seeing on PFR, Meyer has only been associated with a good rushing game once in 2018 with the Chargers. At least as the head dude in charge of anything. As an assistant...he was part of an excellent Bills rushing attack.
From 2017-19 he was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator for the Chargers. Here is what he helped produce:

2017: 24th in yards rushing, 21st in rushing TDs, and 26th in yards per attempt.
2018: 15th in yards rushing, 7th in TDs, and 7th in yards per attempt.
2019: 28th in yards rushing, 20th in TDs and 23rd in yards per attempt.

From 2020-2021 he was the offensive line coach for the Panthers:

2020: 21st in yards rushing, 10th in TDs, and 22nd in yards per attempt
2021: 20th in yards rushing, 13th in TDs, and 23rd in yards per attempt

**Interesting side note: those Panthers teams were bad. And Joe Brady was the boy genius OC who kinda fell plat on his face. BUT...he is now on the Bills and has Allen....looks like he is an offensive mastermind.

Back to our guy Pat Meyer. One time...he coached an offensive line to excellence in the run game. Once. Harder to assess passing game work with just stat lists. So I won't try.

Even if you take it back to his time as an assistant with the Bears...bottom third of the league. In 2015 and 2016 when he was some sort of offensive assistant with the Bills under Greg Roman....that was an excellent rushing offense. Leading the league in 2015 and 2016 led by the last prime years of LeSean McCoy.

Does any of this actually mean anything? I have no idea. But when multiple OL that play for the guy say it takes a long time to adjust to how he wants you to play technique and that it goes against other things they have been taught...I get suspicious. It is totally possible to have a unique way of doing things and be successful. But, for me, if you are going to do something different than everyone else, your idiosyncratic path better produce excellent results.

I do not see that with Meyer either during his time in Pittsburgh or from some high level summary stats at previous stops.

[Mojouw]

I should have mentioned above...I am highly optimistic about the approach on offense. I think it can work.

But I am suspicious about them pulling it off. I go back and forth on Meyer. On one hand....guys look lost and passive. On the other....he gets young and unheralded guys ready to play and play well.

I think this might be the year it all comes together. And, FWIW, I think Brod Jones is more of a Brod Jones and his weird brain problem than anything to do with coaching.

[Dwinsgames]

I should have mentioned above...I am highly optimistic about the approach on offense. I think it can work.

But I am suspicious about them pulling it off. I go back and forth on Meyer. On one hand....guys look lost and passive. On the other....he gets young and unheralded guys ready to play and play well.

I think this might be the year it all comes together. And, FWIW, I think Brod Jones is more of a Brod Jones and his weird brain problem than anything to do with coaching.

what we must remember about Broderick Jones is he is and always has been a natural Left tackle and we have given him just 1 game playing that since he has been here and he looked really really good , so good in fact most of us doubted Moore would ever take the field again and Moore got healthy the next week and Chuks pissed off Tomlin and Moore went back to LT and Jones to RT and the rest is history ...

I am not ready to write off Jones until he sucks as a LT ... we will find out soon enough what that will look like but it might take a little bit of time since its been what 3 years since he has played there

[Born2Steel]

In 2013, Meyer's offensive line allowed just 30 sacks, finishing the year tied for the fourth-fewest in the League. This was with the Bears.

During the 2018 season, Meyer helped lead the offense to its highest rushing total since 2013 (1,873 yards). Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers tied his career-best single-season passer rating of 105.5. In 2017, Meyer's unit allowed a league-low 17 sacks, the franchise's fewest sacks since the 1982 season. That year, Rivers also finished second in the NFL in passing yards (4,515), and the offensive line paved the way for the team's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2013. - This was with the Chargers

In his first year heading up the Steelers' offensive line, the run game improved from ranking 24th in the League through the first half of the season, to finishing third-best after Week 10.

All I said was..Both of those OL were ranked top half to top 10 in rushing production and fewest sacks allowed under Meyer.

I did not say he is the answer at OL coach. I was pointing out he has had success in this role. All of these coaches have achieved some level of success in the same roles they are doing now with the Steelers.

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On the topic of Coach Meyer, he and Tomlin likely first worked together at Memphis in the late 90s.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Pat Meyer OL coach. He was OL coach for the Chargers and Bears both before being hired by the Steelers. Both of those OL were ranked top half to top 10 in rushing production and fewest sacks allowed under Meyer. His '21 Panthers team got hit with the injury bug resulting in 14 different OL starting combinations. Not a good year stats-wise but I would call it more of incomplete. Starting his 3rd season.

Isaac Williams assistant OL coach. His experience is as a collegiate OL coach/run game coordinator. His 2 years with the Steelers is his only NFL experience. I wonder how much we are using him as a run game coordinator. Starting his 3rd season.

Mike Sullivan Head Offensive Assistant. NFL experience at OC/offensive play caller, QB Coach, and WR Coach. 20 years total experience. Starting his 4th season.

Arthur Smith OC. 11 years and 4HCs with the Titans ending his career there as OC. His 2 seasons as OC his offense was top 5 ranked in the NFL. His offense averaged 2.8pts/drive. His 2 seasons as HC of the Falcons his offense was the 3rd ranked rushing offense. 14 years NFL experience coaching offense. Starting his 2nd season.


The point of all this is to point out these coaches have experience and have had success. The longest tenured with the Steelers is entering his 4th season on staff. It is my opinion we have a good enough offensive coaching staff to be successful. Khan, Weidl, and Tomlin are putting the pieces together through the draft and FA. I have said this before, and I'll repeat myself here, the Steelers will be competing for the SB before the end of the 2027 season.

You guys remember when Justin Herbert looked like the next big thing? That was when Tom Arth was his QB Coach. Now he's our QB coach.

Did you purposely leave out Austin or have no optimism for him? Also Herbert always looks good when you watch him but he continues to struggle getting wins since he's been in the league.

[Born2Steel]

Did you purposely leave out Austin or have no optimism for him? Also Herbert always looks good when you watch him but he continues to struggle getting wins since he's been in the league.

Austin? I think he coaches on the defensive side of the ball. Might even be the defensive side coordinator. This thread is about the offensive coaches. So, I purposely left him out.

[Born2Steel]

Moving into the personal side of things, start with the OL. Just curious what your thoughts are here. I'm still not convinced we have found the OTs we are looking for. I'm 50/50 on Dan Moore getting re-signed. If he has been the best option at LT, why would we not bring him back? And, if we were bringing him back, why did we not extend him last off season? That said, is BroJo the LT or is it Fautanu? Who's backing either of them up? I think we are getting closer but we are not finished finding out OT combo.

Frazier, Seumalo, McCormick, McCullum, Herbig, and Anderson. Are we good with this group of Guards? I think we are better here than at OT. Guys must get stronger though.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

what we must remember about Broderick Jones is he is and always has been a natural Left tackle and we have given him just 1 game playing that since he has been here and he looked really really good , so good in fact most of us doubted Moore would ever take the field again and Moore got healthy the next week and Chuks pissed off Tomlin and Moore went back to LT and Jones to RT and the rest is history ...

I am not ready to write off Jones until he sucks as a LT ... we will find out soon enough what that will look like but it might take a little bit of time since its been what 3 years since he has played there

Broderick Jones started 1 full season at LT at Georgia. Its not like he has been some "natural left tackle" for any kind of time in his life.

Jones got reps with the 3rd team in preseason of his rookie year at Left Tackle and he looked terrible on multiple games. Like he could not handle 3rd team opposition speed rush and was taking wrong steps, playing too high and getting worked. The fact that he is pulling on plays , where he should not and getting his hands outside the frame of rushers which is leading to holding penalties is not something that magically goes away if you put him on the other side of the field.

Jones needs repetitions to the point where he isnt still using lousy pad level and poor hand placement and not going to the wrong place when the ball is snapped. Its best that he does that on the right side where the QB can see his screwups and run for his life or throw the ball away, rather than on the blind side where the QB ends up on IR.

I think Fautanu is a more technically sound player and if healthy then he is actually the better option at LT when camp starts. But it still doesnt help our O line getting pushed around all the time and expecially in short yardage situations they never get a push on the opposition D line. That to me has to be mindset, technique and the O line coach has to build that mindset of his group.

[tube517]

Broderick Jones started 1 full season at LT at Georgia. Its not like he has been some "natural left tackle" for any kind of time in his life.

Jones got reps with the 3rd team in preseason of his rookie year at Left Tackle and he looked terrible on multiple games. Like he could not handle 3rd team opposition speed rush and was taking wrong steps, playing too high and getting worked. The fact that he is pulling on plays , where he should not and getting his hands outside the frame of rushers which is leading to holding penalties is not something that magically goes away if you put him on the other side of the field.

Jones needs repetitions to the point where he isnt still using lousy pad level and poor hand placement and not going to the wrong place when the ball is snapped. Its best that he does that on the right side where the QB can see his screwups and run for his life or throw the ball away, rather than on the blind side where the QB ends up on IR.

I think Fautanu is a more technically sound player and if healthy then he is actually the better option at LT when camp starts. But it still doesnt help our O line getting pushed around all the time and expecially in short yardage situations they never get a push on the opposition D line. That to me has to be mindset, technique and the O line coach has to build that mindset of his group.

I wonder if they re-sign Daniels, Seamalu or Big Herbig. Otherwise that is another hole or 2 to fill

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[oneforthetoe]

I wonder if they re-sign Daniels, Seamalu or Big Herbig. Otherwise that is another hole or 2 to fill

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I think Seamalu is under contract for this year? Herbig should not cost that much to resign. Question for me is whether he is better than Anderson. Supposedly Anderson can play RT, but I havn't really seen that. I think I would rather have Herbig at the right price. Daniels is a though one. It is not like he was on the way to being an all-pro LT last year. Also, I like Fautanu's upside. I think he could be a very good tackle. That said, he is coming of an injury, and Daniels would provide us with stability at a very important position.

[Born2Steel]

I think Seamalu is under contract for this year? Herbig should not cost that much to resign. Question for me is whether he is better than Anderson. Supposedly Anderson can play RT, but I havn't really seen that. I think I would rather have Herbig at the right price. Daniels is a though one. It is not like he was on the way to being an all-pro LT last year. Also, I like Fautanu's upside. I think he could be a very good tackle. That said, he is coming of an injury, and Daniels would provide us with stability at a very important position.

Daniels was our RG that was put on IR early on last season. Dan Moore played LT. I would love to bring Moore back and let the best of them earn LT/RT with the other backing up both.
But, I would much rather draft one of the blue chip OTs in this draft. Yes again. Keep adding to that room until we get it right.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

I wonder if they re-sign Daniels, Seamalu or Big Herbig. Otherwise that is another hole or 2 to fill

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They chose not to extend Daniels last season, so the writing is on the wall that he was not going to be back this season. Mason McCormick is the new RG.

Seumalo is under contract for this season, so maybe they try and extend him to lighten the cap hit, but if Opening day were today and I believe Fautanu is healthy then the best 5 O line they have is Fautanu, Frazier, Seumalo, McCormick, Jones. I think that is good 5 but they of course will need depth.

Dan Moore played really well at the start of the season, but when they got down the stretch he was back to his old mediocre pass protection, so I dont know if they gonna try and offer him a contract or move on and see what veteran depth they can pick up in FA.

[Dwinsgames]

Broderick Jones started 1 full season at LT at Georgia. Its not like he has been some "natural left tackle" for any kind of time in his life.

Jones got reps with the 3rd team in preseason of his rookie year at Left Tackle and he looked terrible on multiple games. Like he could not handle 3rd team opposition speed rush and was taking wrong steps, playing too high and getting worked. The fact that he is pulling on plays , where he should not and getting his hands outside the frame of rushers which is leading to holding penalties is not something that magically goes away if you put him on the other side of the field.

Jones needs repetitions to the point where he isnt still using lousy pad level and poor hand placement and not going to the wrong place when the ball is snapped. Its best that he does that on the right side where the QB can see his screwups and run for his life or throw the ball away, rather than on the blind side where the QB ends up on IR.

I think Fautanu is a more technically sound player and if healthy then he is actually the better option at LT when camp starts. But it still doesnt help our O line getting pushed around all the time and expecially in short yardage situations they never get a push on the opposition D line. That to me has to be mindset, technique and the O line coach has to build that mindset of his group.

key word ...at Georgia ....

he was a LT all the way back to Pop Warner from what I have gathered so not sure how anyone doesn't consider him a LT ... I mean I have been predominately left handed my whole life but I can do things right handed too just not as proficiently .... some things I do equally well like shoot a handgun or eat .... some things I can just barely do like write my name or use a computer mouse ...

IDK maybe its just me but if I do something 1 way for 17 years and then stop doing it that way in 2-3 years I am in no way going to be as good as the way I did it for 17 years ...

just how I look at it

[Mojouw]

Daniels MIGHT find his way back to the roster if his injury depresses his market.

Moore played well until the defensive opponents got better. Then he looked like the guy they’ve been trying to replace for 2 years.

Brod Jones troubles are all in his head. You can see it in his body language when he reacts to his latest blown assignment or penalty. He knows what he did wrong. He knows what he needs to do. He just can’t pull his head together long enough to do it.

No amount of coaching or reps is going to help him. He needs to refine his approach to his career. Until he finds out how to do that; he’s gonna remain untapped potential.

[ETL]

What is our OL next year?

LT: Fautanu
LG: Seumalu
C: Frazier
RG: McCormick
RT: Brod Jones

I guess I am ok with this line and will be hopeful that with more experience, better play will come

[oneforthetoe]

Daniels was our RG that was put on IR early on last season. Dan Moore played LT. I would love to bring Moore back and let the best of them earn LT/RT with the other backing up both.
But, I would much rather draft one of the blue chip OTs in this draft. Yes again. Keep adding to that room until we get it right.

Of course. I had a brain fart there. I meant Moore.

[Mojouw]

What is our OL next year?

LT: Fautanu
LG: Seumalu
C: Frazier
RG: McCormick
RT: Brod Jones

I guess I am ok with this line and will be hopeful that with more experience, better play will come

I’d go with that.

I’d like to see them take a swing at getting Daniels back for a year or two.

[Born2Steel]

There are 2 OTs from Texas that would help us better than the guys we have now.
Keep drafting till you get it right. Just my opinion.

There has to be a reason the OL was backing up instead of pushing forward. If that is truly the case, there must be a reason. OL players want to dominate, not give up ground. The personality of an OL is to be the bully.

[ETL]

Ugh. I remember the last OT from Texas on our team and he wasn’t that good. Tony Hills I believe was his name. I agree we should draft one every year but having a legit center like we do now places us sooo much ahead than before.

[Born2Steel]

The Steelers are saying, once again, nobody will be handed the starting job and will have to earn it. Specifically, McCormick is going to have competition. Does that mean a draft pick for OG, bringing in a veteran FA, a return of Daniels? I have no idea.

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Ugh. I remember the last OT from Texas on our team and he wasn’t that good. Tony Hills I believe was his name. I agree we should draft one every year but having a legit center like we do now places us sooo much ahead than before.

If you don't want a player from Texas, there are a couple from LSU as well.