Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett apparently won’t be out of work very long. According to a Wednesday report by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Sarrett will reportedly soon be joining the Los Angeles Chargers as their assistant offensive line coach.
Sarrett was one of three on the Steelers 2020 coaching staff to not have their contracts renewed a few weeks ago. The other two were offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and defensive backs coach Tom Bradley.
While the Steelers offensive line had done well the last few seasons under Sarrett’s guidance in the pass protection department, the run blocking was as equally dismal during the same timeframe. The Steelers offense finished the 2020 season with the league’s worst rushing offense, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry and just 84.4 yards per game.
“I think when you’re dead last in anything, it’s all of the above”, Tomlin said of the teams running game performance during his end-of-season press conference. “We better assess it as such. We will not accept our current position in that area. We cannot. We’ve got to attack that, and we will.”
Not long after making those remarks it was announced that Sarrett, who had been with the Steelers in some capacity since 2012 when he was hired on to be an offensive assistant, would not have his contract renewed. Sarrett was elevated to Steelers offensive line coach in 2019 after his mentor Mike Munchak left to become the offensive line coach of the Denver Broncos.
The Steelers have reportedly had interest in at least candidates to replace Sarrett thus far. The most recent candidate is long-time NFL offensive line coach James Campen, who curiously enough was most recently with the Chargers. Prior to the Steelers considering Campen, the team reportedly had interest in Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley. Fraley, however, wound up being retained by the Lions.
