Could you imagine if the Pittsburgh Steelers’ coaching staff for the offensive line consisted of Mike Munchak and…Alan Faneca? No disrespect to current assistant Shaun Sarrett, whom Alex Kozora frequently mentions as somebody who doesn’t get the credit that he deserves, but to have two such stellar players orienting Pittsburgh’s offensive line would be quite an opportunity.
I haven’t actually seen this covered anywhere else this year, so perhaps I have missed this earlier, and if I have, I apologize in advance, but according to Mike Prisuta via Twitter, the former Steelers All-Pro guard was back in Latrobe yesterday, though I don’t know if he is once again serving as a coaching intern, as he did through OTAs and training camp in 2016.
Alan Faneca, who used to be known as “Big Red,” has showed up for another camp as “Svelte Red.” pic.twitter.com/a0bWglfilY
— Mike Prisuta (@DVEMike) July 28, 2017
I know that this is not something that we covered on our site, as I reviewed our archives. And a Google search also gives no other indications that I can find that it was previously known Faneca would be in camp. But Prisuta’s Tweet includes visual evidence of his presence.
It’s hard to know what the future might hold, but it’s encouraging to see that Faneca resumed his presence in Pittsburgh for at least a day in training camp and what the future possibilities could be stemming from that. Given that he is here once again, he is evidently may still be considering a future in the coaching profession.
Now, I have not seen anything that actually indicates that he is serving in an official capacity as a coaching intern, and I would be inclined to believe otherwise unless we see evidence to the contrary. But any time that he spends with the Steelers’ offensive linemen is a plus, in my opinion.
I believe Faneca could potentially make for a very good offensive line coach, and he would have a very good teacher in Munchak should he wish to pursue that opportunity. Pittsburgh would also happen to be a very good place to start out his coaching career, should that be a path he remains interested in pursuing.
The two All-Pro offensive linemen bear a lot of similarities, in my opinion, both in terms of their playing career and in their character. Both of them have transitioned very well from their post-playing days, dropping from their playing weight, for one thing. These days, Faneca legitimately looks more like a wide receiver than a lineman.
I hope that we continue to receive word of Faneca sightings as the Steelers move back to Saint Vincent College tomorrow for practice, because I would welcome his presence in the team’s camp. I wouldn’t expect much beyond that, of course, so don’t get your hopes up of him suddenly joining the staff, but I do enjoy having him around.
Update: According to our own Tim Rice, Faneca is back once again today for the Steelers’ first day of padded practices, and the first actually at Saint Vincent College. Hopefully he sticks around for the rest of camp as well.
Faneca is present again today #steelers #nfl #steelernation @Steelersdepot @mmarczi pic.twitter.com/kMu6IuTx9I
— T R (@TimotRice) July 30, 2017
