His tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers ended on a rather sour note, and now as a member of the New England Patriots, offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor isn’t exactly holding back about his time in Pittsburgh.
Okorafor, who was benched in favor of rookie Broderick Jones ahead of the Week 9 matchup against the Tennessee Titans for reportedly something he said on the sideline late in the Week 8 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, signed with the Patriots in March after being released by the Steelers in late February.
Now at his first OTAs with the Patriots, Okorafor took a subtle shot at the coaching he received with the Steelers, specifically from the offensive line coaches. He stated that in New England he’s receiving more coaching based on technique, footwork and more from Patriots new offensive line coach Scott Peters.
“He’s solid. He’s big about technique,” Okorafor said of Peters, according to the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. “I’ve had some coaches in the past whether it’s college or NFL, it’s just run and hit kind of deal. But he’s technique, hands, feet, everything. So far, it’s been good.”
During his time in Pittsburgh as a third-round pick out of Western Michigan in 2018, Okorafor spent one season working under Hall of Fame offensive lineman Mike Munchak, who also happens to be one of the best offensive line coaches of the last decade or so in the NFL.
Munchak left the Steelers ahead of the 2019 season to be closer to family in Denver, joining the Broncos as the offensive line coach after being a finalist for the head coaching position in the Mile High City. The Steelers promoted Shaun Sarrett and hired Adrian Klemm as the assistant offensive line coach.
Sarrett held down the role for the 2019 and 2020 seasons and saw the Steelers’ offensive line decline a bit, leading to the franchise not renewing his contract after the 2020 season. Klemm was promoted and veteran Chris Morgan was hired as an assistant, but Klemm wasn’t a great fit with offensive coordinator Matt Canada during the 2021 season. He left late in the year to join the Oregon Ducks’ staff.
After one season in Oregon, Klemm joined the Patriots for the 2023 season but was not retained after the Patriots fired Bill Belichick and hired Jerod Mayo, who then hired Peters.
Peters is a former NFL offensive lineman who appeared in Super Bowl XLIII with the Arizona Cardinals against the Steelers. He later went into coaching, spending the last three seasons as the assistant offensive line coach in Cleveland.
In his final two seasons with the Steelers, Okorafor worked under Pat Meyer, who brought an entirely new offensive line coaching philosophy to the table, focusing on independent hand usage, taking the fight to defenders and being the aggressor. Meyer is big on technique and hand usage, so it’s very unlikely Okorafor was talking about Meyer or assistant offensive line coach Isaac Williams, but maybe he does hold a significant grudge for how he was benched and not retained.
Going through not only Munchak, but Sarrett, Klemm, Morgan, Meyer and Williams is tough for any lineman, and it might have been quite difficult for Okorafor to adjust year after year. But there isn’t really a need to take a pot shot at past coaching while trying to talk up the new coaching you’re receiving.
The Steelers have been nothing but professional and offered quite a bit of praise since moving on from Okorafor. Head coach Mike Tomlin even stated that the Patriots are getting an “accountable and professional” player in Okorafor during the NFL owners meetings in Orlando in March.
But Okorafor made sure to work that dig in regarding some coaching he received in the past in Pittsburgh. Maybe he did receive that “run and hit” blocking coaching in Pittsburgh from someone. He never quite figured that part out in Pittsburgh, especially in the run game.
Hopefully the new coaching philosophy and coaching points from Peters helps Okorafor take a step in his NFL career.
