Steelers Fire Offensive Line Coach Jack Bicknell Jr.

In what could be called somewhat of a surprise, the Steelers have announced that they have terminated offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. Bicknell held the position for just about 11 months before being relieved of his duties. Mike Tomlin issued a brief statement about the firing on the team’s website.

“I have decided to go in a different direction with respect to the coaching of our offensive line,” said Tomlin. “I want to thank Jack for his contributions during the 2013 season, and I wish him well in the future.”

It should come as no surprise that the team fired a member of the coaching staff. It seemed highly unlikely that the team wouldn’t part ways with an assistant or two, but which coaches were difficult to predict. One can only speculate as to why Bicknell was let go. He was brought in to replace Sean Kugler, and to install the outside zone blocking scheme, which was touted as the cure to the ailing run game of 2012. After Maurkice Pouncey suffered from friendly fire during week one, the stretch scheme took a back seat, and was rarely seen again throughout the season.

While Bicknell has gotten a lot of credit from some media and fans for the line’s turnaround during the second half of the season, certain important factors are overlooked. After playing ‘musical tackles’ in the early part of the season, the team used Mike Adams as a blocking tight end, which served to cover some of the line’s weaknesses. Furthermore, the progression and success of the no huddle offense was a big key to Ben Roethlisberger’s success in the second half of the season.

There are some conflicting reports that Bicknell saw a decrease in coaching responsibilities throughout the season. Jerry Dulac writes, “In fact, for most of the second half of the season, offensive assistant Shaun Sarrett was doing a lot of the instruction and daily handling of the offensive line – duties normally performed by the offensive line coach.” This isn’t exactly true, as it’s not unheard of for assistant coaches to preform those duties, though, every Steelers fan’s favorite national reporter echoes that sentiment.

While I was flying… #Steelers fired OL coach Jack Bicknell, Jr. Obvious move. By mid-year, they'd stripped him of most on-field duties

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 3, 2014

However, Mark Kaboly and Dejan Kovacevic report the contrary.

After talking to people, it was not a surprise that Jack Bicknell Jr. was let go. Was also told his role was never diminished during season.

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) January 3, 2014

According to one #Steelers O-lineman, it’s “absolutely not” true that Jack Bicknell Jr. had any duties replaced or diminished at any point.

— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) January 3, 2014

Clear as mud, right? We may never know why they chose to fire him, though who the Steelers hire to replace him may shed some more light on it. Was it a change in philosophy, or was Bicknell just not a good fit here? The former we’ll soon know, the latter we may never know.