One year after exiting his position as offensive line coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers late in the 2021 season to take a similar role at his alma mater in the Oregon Ducks, Adrian Klemm is making a return to the NFL.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Klemm is returning to a familiar place in the NFL, joining the New England Patriots’ staff under head coach Bill Belichick.
Though it is unclear what his exact role will be, Klemm previously interviewed for the Patriots’ offensive coordinator position before the franchise hired Bill O’Brien away from Alabama. Klemm would likely slot in as the Patriots’ new offensive line coach, but the Patriots currently have Matt Patricia and Billy Yates listed as offensive line coaches in Foxboro.
Klemm left the Steelers towards the end of the 2021 season to take over as the run game coordinator/associate head coach/offensive line coach at his alma mater Oregon. In his lone year with the Ducks, Klemm oversaw a group that rushed for 215.8 yards per game and had three players surpass 500 yards on the ground, including leading rusher Bucky Irving with 1,058 yards. Quarterback Bo Nix also ran for 510 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He also had experience coaching in the college ranks at SMU and UCLA prior to his stop in Pittsburgh.
Prior to leaving Pittsburgh for the college ranks once again, Klemm served as the Steelers’ assistant offensive line coach from 2019-2020 before being promoted to offensive line coach after the team parted ways with Shaun Sarrett. He’s familiar with New England, as he was the first-ever draft pick by Belichick with the Patriots, spending five years there as a player.
Once Klemm left the Steelers’ franchise late in the 2021 season to pursue his opportunity with Oregon, the Steelers promoted assistant OL coach Chris Morgan into the top role. Morgan then followed Klemm out the door in the offseason, leaving for a job with the Chicago Bears, which ultimately led to the Steelers hiring Pat Meyer as the offensive line coach, and Isaac Williams as the assistant offensive line coach in the offseason.
