Steelers promote Olsavsky, Porter to replace Butler
To fill a vacancy in coaching a position that has been high-profile and important throughout the Steelers' history, the organization turned to two of its former longtime linebackers.
Jerry Olsavsky and Joey Porter were named inside linebackers coach and outside linebackers coach, respectively, the Steelers announced Friday. The duo, who combined for 17 seasons of playing experience with the organization, each were previously on the staff as defensive assistants.
They fill the void left when former linebackers coach Keith Butler was promoted to defensive coordinator following the resignation of Dick LeBeau last month. Olsavsky and Porter take over the reins of a position in which there are plenty of question marks — both in terms of a lack of players under contract and in having young, unproven commodities.
Olsavsky, a Youngstown, Ohio, native who played at Pitt, spent the past five seasons as a defensive assistant on the Steelers staff. He appeared in 118 games as inside linebacker (31 starts) for the team from 1989-97, including Super Bowl XXX.
Porter was named All-Pro three times as an outside linebacker with the Steelers from 1999-2006. Including five additional NFL seasons, he was named to the NFL's all-decade team for the 2000s. Last season was his first as a full-time member of the Steelers' staff.
Neither Porter nor Olsavsky was made available for comment at the Steelers' South Side headquarters.
The decision to promote the two is a strong indication the Steelers won't drastically alter their defensive philosophy under Butler. The franchise has run a 3-4 alignment for more than two decades — 16 of the past 23 seasons, LeBeau was on the staff — and Olsavsky and Porter played under it.
One of the more popular Steelers among fans, Porter was part of the Super Bowl championship team of 2005. He signed a one-day ceremonial contract to retire as a Steeler in 2012.
Porter, 37, takes over a position group in which the three most common 2014 starters are unrestricted free agents: Jason Worilds, Arthur Moats and James Harrison, the latter of whom is only 13 months younger than Porter and came out of a brief retirement in September.
A locker-room and on-field emotional leader during his playing tenure, Porter filled a similar motivational role as a Steelers coach this past season, his first with an NFL team. Porter was an undergraduate student assistant at alma mater Colorado State in 2013.
A primary emphasis of Porter's duties last season was to mentor 2013 first-round pick Jarvis Jones. Injuries and underachieving play have limited Jones to 21 games and 11 starts over his first two NFL seasons.
Porter also will be asked to tutor Shawn Lemon, an intriguing player the Steelers signed last month after he had 13 sacks in the CFL last season. Practice squad member Howard Jones — an undrafted free agent rookie from Division II Shephard — is another project with potential.
After having 18 outside linebackers named to the Pro Bowl over a 21-season span from 1992-2012, the Steelers have not had any since. They have had 34 and 33 sacks the past two seasons, their lowest outputs since 1990. Outside linebacker is where pressure is designed to come from in their scheme, and Porter's 60 sacks rank fifth in franchise history.
Although Lawrence Timmons is a stalwart at one inside linebacker spot, last year's first-round pick Ryan Shazier was limited by injuries as a rookie. The likewise relatively inexperienced Vince Williams and Sean Spence round out the top of the depth chart at inside linebacker.
Chris Adamski is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at cadamski@tribweb.com or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.
