Steelers lose interim OL coach to Bears, talks of Mike Munchak return swirl

The Chicago Bears recently snatched interim offensive line coach Chris Morgan from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now talks of a Mike Munchak return are swirling.

There’s a lot going on in the football world at the moment. The Pittsburgh Steelers brass is currently on hand at the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl, and they are no doubt getting their first great look of some of the players who could wind up on their roster this April.

However, while the first big event of the 2022 offseason is underway, the Steelers let one of their coaches slip through their grasp. Interim offensive line coach, Chris Morgan has officially joined the Chicago Bears where he will continue to coach the OL.

This is somewhat surprising news, as the Steelers were expected to offer Morgan the job to stay on as the OL coach after Adrian Klemm walked away from the team late in the season. Pittsburgh was impressed with what Morgan was able to do when he took over, and the players really respected him, but he will not be part of the future plans here.

With Morgan’s decision to sign in Chicago, talks of a potential Mike Munchak return quickly stirred up once more. This time, a reunion seems more likely than ever.

After being a long-time OL coach and three-year head coach for the Titans, Munchak was the offensive line coach for the Steelers for a five-year span from 2014 to 2018. During this tenure, the Steelers OL developed into one of the best units they have had in the modern football era.

Munchak had talent to work with like David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey in the prime of their careers, but he was also largely responsible for the development, growth, and improvement of players like Kelvin Beachum, Chris Hubbard, Alejandro Villanueva, and Matt Feiler — all of whom went on to receive big deals from other teams.

Now that Munchak is unlikely to return to Denver after the Broncos decided to move in a different direction, could he be the Steelers OL coach in 2022?

Could Steelers really get Munchak back?

If you have been following the Steelers closely for a long time now, you know that there aren’t a lot of positional coaches out there as special as Mike Munchak. He has shown time again that he can take a ball of clay and turn it into a work of art. In fact, I would go as far as to say that he’s been one of the most valuable positional coaches in the NFL over the past decade.

The question becomes: does he want to keep coaching? Part of the reason that Munchak took a job in Denver, to begin with, is because that’s where his family is from. Will he really want to leave them again to continue his coaching career at the age of 61?

Apparently, it’s something that’s on the table. NFL Insider John Clayton spoke on 93.7 The Fan where he indicated that Munchak would like to continue coaching.

I am certainly intrigued by the idea of bringing Mike Munchak back to Pittsburgh to continue where he left off. Though things did not go well at all along the OL last year for the Steelers, perhaps Munchak could work his magic once again with players like Kevin Dotson and Dan Moore. Maybe he could even help Kendrick Green develop into a quality starter.

I don’t think there’s a single member of the organization that would turn down Munchak if he asked to come back to Pittsburgh, and this could be just what the doctor ordered. However, it’s ultimately going to be his choice. Let’s hope the feeling is mutual.