A top Pittsburgh Steelers coach is being recruited to return to the college circuit as Oregon’s offensive line coach, according to sources.
With the rapid decline of Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers are poised for a significant rebuild in 2022 — and it looks like that rebuild is only getting bigger.
The Steelers are set to lose offensive line coach Adrian Klemm to the Oregon Ducks, according to ESPN sources.
Told this hire is expected to happen, per sources. Plan is for Klemm to finish out the season with the Steelers before heading to Oregon. https://t.co/em1vEYmIqT
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) December 22, 2021
The hire is “expected to happen” after Klemm finishes out the season with the Steelers, according to ESPN college football writer Adam Rittenberg.
Steelers OL coach headed to Oregon after NFL season ends
Although the Steelers remain in the AFC playoff race at 7-6, the team has received intense criticism for failing to claim wins as convincingly as they did in their 12-game win stretch last season.
Klemm has been with the Steelers coaching staff since 2019, being promoted to his current role this year. Still Curtain’s Jeffery Burton describes Klemm’s offensive line schemes as being “vanilla.”
“Almost every yard Najee Harris has gained has been by sheer force of will,” Burton wrote.
After the Steelers lost offensive line coach Mike Munchak to the Denver Broncos in 2019, they’ve been unable to replicate the success they saw under Munchak during his tenure.
Although it is Klemm who is choosing the leave, the high turnover at this particular position makes facilitating the offense even more difficult in the coming season. The run game has become increasingly important with the decline of Roethlisberger’s arm, and with questions remaining about the future of the quarterback position, the Steelers will need to lean heavily on a capable, creative offensive line structure.
Before Klemm coached with the Steelers, he coached in collegiate programs for 11 years. But before that, Klemm was a three-time Super Bowl winner with the newfound New England Patriots dynasty. Klemm was actually drafted in the second round in 2000 — four rounds before the Patriots selected Tom Brady.
Although his son, Jalen Klemm, just committed to playing college ball, he unfortunately won’t be playing at Oregon. Jalen Klemm is set to play as an offensive lineman for Kansas State.
With a different kind of NFL experience under his belt, Klemm heads to Oregon, who finished at No. 14 in this year’s CFP rankings.
