Some big news today as the Pittsburgh Steelers have announced that offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. has been fired after just one season.
Bicknell was hired last offseason to replace Sean Kugler, who left to become the head coach of his alma mater Texas-El Paso.
The Steelers offensive line was snake bitten right from the start last season as center Maurkice Pouncey was lost for year with a knee injury suffered in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans. Due to injuries on the offensive line and poor play by left tackle Mike Adams, the Steelers were forced to use seven different starting combinations over the course of the season.
Bicknell spent most of the offseason working on implementing the outside zone blocking scheme, but after losing Pouncey in the opener, it was barely used at all the remainder of the year.
Head coach Mike Tomlin released a short statement explaining Bicknell’s departure:
“I have decided to go in a different direction with respect to the coaching of our offensive line. I want to thank Jack for his contributions during the 2013 season, and I wish him well in the future.”
