Former Steelers Coach Under Mike Tomlin Absolutely Destroyed By Former Player: "This Dude Sucked"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have an extremely long history. There have been some fantastic seasons led by phenomenal coaching staffs, but not every year has been perfect for the players that have been a part of the organization. Since the team's Super Bowl appearance at the end of the 2010 campaign, it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows. In fact, Head Coach Mike Tomlin and his groups have only been able to win three postseason contests since the devastating Super Bowl loss to the Green Bay Packers. Fans have recently been calling for change amidst the January struggles.

Tomlin has been consistently criticized for not having a legitimate coaching tree and it's a valid frustration for the fan base to have. Tomlin can't control every aspect of the team and it's crucial to have intelligent coaches around him that can work with the players. A concerning story was recently told about one of the Steelers' former offensive line coaches that worked under Tomlin in 2013.

Former offensive lineman John Malecki joined the drdecks YouTube channel for a podcast episode. The retired football player in Malecki spoke highly about a former coach of his that, when connecting the dots, is easy to understand that he was talking about Sean Kugler, who coached the unit from 2010-2012. Once Kugler left Pittsburgh, however, things went south quickly for Malecki.

"That offensive line coach left," Malecki said likely in reference to Kugler. "It's like any job. There's a lot of politics and a lot of people and a lot of relationship stuff. He went to bat for me. He really liked me, liked the way I played. I knew the playbook inside and out. They brought in another guy, and for that season, it was complete and utter turmoil."

Following Kugler, Jack Bicknell Jr. became the leader of the Steelers' offensive line. It very easy to make out who Malecki was talking about when he focuses on someone causing turmoil. Malecki was on and off Pittsburgh's practice squad beginning in 2011, only to finally see his time with the organization come to an end just prior to the 2013 season, when Bicknell was in charge. The former lineman did not mince words when insinuating how bad Bicknell was.

"This dude sucked," Malecki said bluntly. "This is the Killer Bs era. They should've been Super Bowl contenders. They were just screwing things up on the back end super hard, in my opinion. They brought this coach in who really couldn't get the room together; so, they went above him and starting bringing in some guys to try and fill some gaps."

Oddly enough, Bicknell is still coaching. He was hired at West Virginia to be the offensive line coach in January after Rich Rodriguez accepted the head-coaching job. Unfortunately, Malecki's comments paint a really bad picture regarding the state of the Steelers' unit in 2013. it speaks volumes that Bicknell was gone after just one year, which is a rare occurrence in the Steel City under Tomlin.

Steelers fans haven't had the best experience when it comes to getting behind an offensive line coach. Pat Meyer currently receives a ton of criticism and the calls for Mike Munchak to somehow be re-hired have not stopped in recent seasons. Malecki's comments that seem to be about Bicknell are not a great look for Tomlin, even over a decade later.

Steelers Are Emphasizing The Trenches In 2025

Pittsburgh's current offensive approach was clear in 2024, but it did not work out that well. The team wants to run the ball, use the play-action pass, and then have a strong defense to get all of that up. The line on the offensive side has been revamped in recent years and if it doesn't perform well in 2025, Meyer may absolutely be out of a job.

What are your thoughts on Malecki's comments about Bicknell? Let us know in the comments below!

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