Although he hasn’t been in the room in over a year, former Pittsburgh Steelers guard Ramon Foster has about as much credibility as anybody could have in commenting on issues surrounding the team’s offensive line. He spent over a decade in the trenches there, and has seen a lot of people come and go, while also serving as union rep and as a key locker room leader.
When the Steelers announced that they would be promoting Adrian Klemm to the head offensive line coach position, it was met with deafening silence when absent of skepticism and suspicion that he was a last option, a settlement.
Foster, who did work with Klemm in his final season in 2019 when he served as assistant to Shaun Sarrett, the team’s previous offensive line coach who was just let go, offered his thoughts about the hire, and was quite enthusiastic about it in several replies on Twitter.
No lie…Klemm is the BEST option. Having been around him, he’s a guy who gets it and knows how to challenge everyone in the room with an ego removed. Solid solid hire. With the room transitioning soon, he’s the guy for the job. I co-sign this.
— Ramon Foster (@RamonFoster) February 2, 2021
Y’all are going to like Klemm! Trust me
— Ramon Foster (@RamonFoster) February 2, 2021
He’s damn good. He has his own philosophy, and loves guys who play with an edge. Ask around, he’s solid.
— Ramon Foster (@RamonFoster) February 2, 2021
It was other teams who wanted him! What does that say.
— Ramon Foster (@RamonFoster) February 2, 2021
Steelers hired a new OL coach. In-house guy but he’s damn good.
— Ramon Foster (@RamonFoster) February 2, 2021
Maybe he…wasn’t the…OL coach 🤷🏽♂️
— Ramon Foster (@RamonFoster) February 2, 2021
How are y’all upset about an OL coach hire when y’all don’t even notice us unless we are making penalties 😏😂😂😂. Lineman and O-Line coaches matter!!! pic.twitter.com/AxMq8LpuWJ
— Ramon Foster (@RamonFoster) February 2, 2021
Klemm is a former NFL offensive lineman who was coached by the great Dante Scarnecchia in New England. He went on to coach the offensive line at the college level at SMU and at UCLA, where he earned a reputation for being a hard coach who pushed his players…possibly a little too hard, which resulted in him being named in some lawsuits at the end of his coaching tenure before head coach Mike Tomlin hired him.
The Steelers made the promotion official yesterday, though they have yet to find a new assistant coach to work under him. While he has worked as head offensive line coach at the college level before, leading an offensive line room full of professional will be a different experience.
The room is, of course, at an interesting point of transition right now, with their aging established stars nearing the end of their career, or possibly even leaving in free agency, while the process of turning over the room with younger players like Chukwuma Okorafor and Kevin Dotson has begun.
More often than not, the Steelers make significant investments at positions when they hire a new position coach, and that pattern just so happens to coincide with an obvious need. Don’t be surprised if they end up with two offensive linemen drafted in the first four rounds in April.
