Report: Mike Munchak Expected To Meet With Steelers

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It’s being reported that Mike Munchak is expected to interview with the Steelers for the vacant offensive line coach position. Jason La Canfora reports that the team is expected to meet with Munchak about the opening as soon as the Senior bowl.

The senior bowl is Saturday, January 25th, but teams often have staff members in Mobile days in advance. Munchak would be arguably the best coach the Steelers could hope to hire as offensive line coach.

Munchak, who was recently let go by the Tennessee Titans has been interviewing for various coaching positions. He recently interviewed with Penn State before they hired Franklin and with the Houston Texans for their offensive line coach opening as well. Munchak is also reportedly a candidate for the Cleveland Browns head coach opening.

Mike Munchak was with the Houston Oilers for 12 years, so a position with the Texans would seem like the most logical landing spot for him short of a head coaching opening. If he were to land with the Steelers, the team would have 3 assistant coaches who have head coaching experience in the NFL.

The team has not interviewed Ray Brown for the position yet according to reports. The only interview that’s been reported as of this writing was with offensive assistant Shaun Sarrett.

 

Looking At The 2014 Steelers NFL Compensatory Picks

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There has been a lot of conversation about the NFL compensatory pick process lately, and how many comp picks the Steelers might get in 2014. Hopefully, I can shed a little light on it as I take a closer look at how the NFL determines compensatory picks.

What Are Compensatory Picks?

I have a bad habit of assuming what’s common knowledge and what’s not, so I’ll start from scratch. The NFL awards compensatory draft picks (“comp” picks) to teams to compensate them for the loss of free agents during the previous off season. So, the picks the Steelers are awarded for the 2014 NFL draft are for the losses of free agents before the 2013 season. Teams gain additional picks at the end of the appropriate regular draft rounds.

How Are NFL Compensatory Picks Determined?

The exact formula the NFL uses to determine compensation isn’t publicly available. No one outside the league headquarters can definitively say what picks will be awarded. Some of their deciding factors are public knowledge however, and other details can be pieced together based on history leaving you able to make a fairly accurate educated guess. In the end, it’s about net free agent loss. Here are some of the main determining factors:

  • Players signed to non-qualifying,  minimum or low salaries do not factor.
  • Players that are cut do not count. Also, non-tendered restricted free agents or exclusive rights free agents aren’t considered.
  • Each player signed cancels out a player lost.
  • The round of the pick awarded is primarily decided by the average annual value of the contract signed. Free agent players signed cancel out lost players with equal contracts, then lower contracts, before eventually canceling out higher contracts.

When Does The NFL Announce Compensatory Picks?

The NFL typically announces comp picks via a press release in March prior to the draft.

How Many Compensatory Picks Can A Team Receive?

Four picks is the maximum compensation that a team can receive.

Can The Team Trade The Awarded Picks To Move Up In The Draft?

No, that would be great, but compensatory picks cannot be traded.

How Many Comp Picks Will The Steelers Receive For The 2014 Draft?

I believe they’ll receive 2. I’m inclined to believe that they’ll receive a 3rd round comp pick for Mike Wallace, and 5th round pick for the loss of Keenan Lewis.

Let’s look at the contracts of what I believe are the qualifying free agent gains and losses.

2013 Steelers Qualifying Free Agent Losses

Mike Wallace- Signed by the Dolphins to a 5 year, $60 Mil contract, including $30 Mil guaranteed.

Keenan Lewis- Signed by the Saints to a 5 year, $25 Mil deal, including $10.5 Mil guaranteed with several escalators.

Rashard Mendenhall- Signed by the Cardinals to a one year, $2.5 Mil contract, with $500,000 guaranteed.

2013 Steelers Qualifying Free Agent Gains

Bruce Gradkowski- Signed by the Steelers to a 3 year, $4.1 Mil contract, including $850,000 guaranteed.

Noteworthy transaction- Will Allen was signed to a one year deal by the Cowboys, but was cut in November, and re-signed by the Steelers.

While factors such as playing time and post-season honors are said to be considered in the NFL’s formula, I don’t believe they carry significant consideration, or are even considered all of the time. Also, players who are placed on IR seem to be a factor sometimes, while not carrying any consideration other times.

To use our hated division foes as an example, the Ravens lost Ben Grubbs, Jarret Johnson, Brandon McKinney, Haruki Nakamura, Cory Redding, and Tom Zbikowski in 2012, while gaining Sean Considine, and Corey Graham. They received the maximum 4 compensatory picks in the 2013 draft. As compensation, they were awarded a 4th, a 5th, a 6th, and a 7th. While this is only one example, and without getting too detailed in terms of their contracts, the losses and gains in terms of cap dollars and contract lengths aren’t equal. They simply lost 6, gained 2 and got 4.

It is a possibility that the Steelers will be awarded more for Lewis, possibly a 4th, but I’m inclined to believe he’ll return a 5th round comp pick. Feel free to ask if there’s anything I left out or if there’s something that needs clarifying.

Rumor: Kirby Wilson A Possible Candidate As Titans Offensive Coordinator

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Add another Steelers assistant coach to the list of rumored potential Tennessee Titans coordinators. Jason La Canfora says he’s told that Steelers running backs coach Kirby Wilson is a possible offensive coordinator candidate in Tennessee.

https://twitter.com/JasonLaCanfora/statuses/423122838095400960

Kirby Wilson was rumored to be the next in line to replace Bruce Arians before he was hospitalized from burns he suffered in a house fire. While it does seem to come out of left field, it doesn’t seem quite as far fetched as it would have a year ago. Recent reports indicated that Wilson was involved in offensive game planning this past season.

Nonetheless, Wilson has no NFL experience as an offensive coordinator. With Whisenhunt’s status climbing to near iconic levels recently, it would stand to reason that he could have his pick of the top available offensive minds. While it is a bit of a head scratcher, stranger things have happened.

Losing Keith Butler To Whisenhunt Seems Unlikely

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There have been stories circulating suggesting that the Steelers may lose LB Coach Keith Butler when Ken Whisenhunt landed a head coaching job. It was just announced that the Tennessee Titans have hired him as their new head coach, but the likelihood of him luring Butler away from the Steelers is small. Let’s take a deeper look at why it isn’t very likely.

Gerry Dulac of the Post Gazette writes, “There is a good possibility Whisenhunt will try to hire Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler as his defensive coordinator, something he tried to do in 2007 when he left the Steelers to become head coach in Arizona.”

There’s a long history of teams (namely the Cardinals) seeking permission to interview Butler, and ultimately being denied by the Steelers brass or spurned by Butler himself. He was a candidate for the Colts defensive coordinator position two years ago, but reportedly changed his mind the day before the interview after meeting with Art Rooney II and Coach Tomlin. According to Jerry Dulac at the time, he and the team made a gentleman’s agreement in 2009 making him the next defensive coordinator when(ever) Dick LeBeau decides to hang up his clipboard. If that was indeed true, it can be safely assumed that Butler isn’t going to leave now after waiting this long. The end is certainly almost here. Dick LeBeau will be 77 this year. Having said that, it should come as no surprise that a gentleman’s agreement in the NFL doesn’t amount to much at the end of the day.

Ultimately though, Butler is a 3-4 guy and the Titans are predominately a 4-3 team. The Titans defense was formidable last year. It’s not as though they struggled and are in need of a complete overhaul. The contracts of both defensive coordinator Jerry Gray and senior assistant Gregg Williams expired last week though, so the Titans will need to find a defensive coordinator. Will Wiz want to scrap the 4-3 when the pieces are there and working? Furthermore, will he want to take a chance again on a positional coach who hasn’t been a defensive coordinator in the NFL? These questions may be moot if the Steelers decide (as they have done in the past) to decline requests to interview him.

There are  a lot of candidates in the pool for Whiz to consider, and as Mike Silver said today, Whiz was reportedly discussing options with San Diego assistants recently. Butler isn’t the only guy he knows.

 

Antonio Brown Named To 2013 PFWA All-AFC Team

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The accolades continue to roll in for Steelers star wide receiver Antonio Brown. The Pro Football Writers of America announce that he has been selected to their All-AFC team.  Cleveland’s Josh Gordon was the other AFC receiver who was selected.

This is the cherry on top of what was an amazing season for Brown. He finished the season with 1499 receiving yards, breaking Yancey Thigpen’s single season record that stood for 16 years.  Brown was named team MVP for the second time last month. He was also named 2nd team All Pro, selected to the 2014 pro bowl, and chosen by ProFootballFocus to their All Pro team as well.

Chiefs Sign DeMarcus Van Dyke To Futures Contract

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The Kansas City Chiefs have signed former Steelers CB DeMarcus Van Dyke to a reserve/futures deal.

The Steelers originally signed Van Dyke back in September of 2012, where he saw limited participation as a special teamer. He was back with team in training camp this year, but was ultimately waived/injured due to a nagging hamstring injury.

The Steelers re-signed him in November, but released him a few weeks later to make room for the signing of offensive linemen.

Report: Omar Khan Interviewed With Dolphins

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Reports are coming out indicating that Steelers Director of Football & Business Administration, Omar Khan, had his interview with the Dolphins today. ESPN writer Scott Brown reports that he interviewed with the team today, and that his was the first, though, reports from earlier in the day state otherwise.

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reported that Arizona’s Jason Licht was the first interview of the day. Salguero also reports that Cleveland Browns assistant GM Ray Farmer is the leading candidate. The Dolphins have been busy today interviewing and lengthening the list of candidates.

So far, Miami has 7 candidates by my count, and have expressed interest in Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, though it’s rumored that he declined. The team released a statement yesterday that would seem to address some of the concerns I noted yesterday, though I still don’t think Khan winds up there. Stranger things have happened, though.

Steelers Sign WR Jasper Collins, S Jordan Dangerfield

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The Steelers have signed wide receiver Jasper Collins and safety Jordan Dangerfield to reserve/futures contracts.

Jasper Collins is a 5’10”, 190 lb receiver out of Mount Union college. The same small school that produced Pierre Garcon. Collins was undrafted and signed by the Dolphins last spring, though he was waived/injured during training camp. Later he was signed to the Browns practice squad before going back to join the Dolphins on their scout team.

I watched some of Collins tape last year. He is undersized, and will mainly see activity in the slot. He has fluid hips and is capable of explosiveness, though as with many undersized receivers, he struggles in press coverage.

Jordan Dangerfield is 5’11”, 199. Dangerfield also went undrafted last year. He was signed by the Bills and was released at the end of their training camp.

Jerome Bettis and Kevin Greene Named Finalists For Hall Of Fame

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Jerome Bettis and Kevin Greene are among the top 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame- class of 2014. Both players were finalists last year, but did not receive the 80% vote necessary to be selected. The Bus is the only eligible top ten rushing running back not in the Hall of Fame.

The class of 2014 Hall of Fame inductees will be selected and announced on February 1st.

Report: Dolphins Requested To Interview Omar Khan

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Adem Schefter reports that among several other candidates, the Dolphins have in fact requested the Steelers permission to interview Omar Khan.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/421400098115829760

As I posted earlier, this doesn’t concern me. We will have to wait and see if the Steelers grant them permission, and if he does in fact attend an interview with the Miami Dolphins.