Art Rooney II said there are more changes coming to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ running game. But RBs coach Eddie Faulkner isn’t one of them. In fact, he’s staying in Pittsburgh, inking a two-year contract extension according to the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson.
Faulkner was hired to be the team’s RBs coach in 2019, replacing James Saxon. These have been his first two years in the NFL after coaching college football since 2003. Faulkner has had plenty of young talent to work with since taking over. Over the last two years, the team drafted Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland while taking Jaylen Samuels in 2018.
The results of the Steelers’ run game, however, have been poor. Pittsburgh bottomed out in 2020, dead last in several categories and rushing for their fewest yards in a season since 1966. Not all of that can be blamed on the running backs nor the running backs coach as the Steelers’ offensive line struggled to open up running lanes all season. Clearly, the Steelers like the job Faulkner’s done and Wilson’s tweet calls him a “rising star” in the league.
The Steelers still have two coaching vacancies on the offensive side of the ball. They’ve yet to name a new offensive line coach to replace Shaun Sarrett or a QBs coach to replace the newly promoted Matt Canada, now the team’s offensive coordinator.
