The Pittsburgh Steelers is reportedly bringing Hank Fraley into an interview for his offensive lineman spot, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.
O # Thieves are interviewing Hank Fraley for his offensive line coach job Thursday, by source. Fraley – a former Robert Morris standout who originally signed with Pittsburgh as a non-hired free agent in 2000 – did the same job with #Lions last season.
– Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 21, 2021
As Pelissero’s tweet indicates, Fraley previously served as the Detroit Lions offensive line coach in 2020. He was dismissed when a new regime came in to replace Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn.
Fraley’s football career began briefly with the Pittsburgh Steelers, signing as a UDFA in 2000. He found his foot in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, starting 71 games from 2001 to 2005 before having a successful career with the Cleveland Browns of 2006 to 2008. He ended his career with the St. Louis Rams in 2010.
As a coach, Fraley started at San Diego in 2012. He held the same position at San Jose State the following year and received his first NFL coach position in 2014, spending three seasons as an assistant offensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings. He returned to college in 2017 as an UCLA on-line coach (replacing current Steelers assistant coach Adrian Klemm) before returning to the NFL with Lions since 2018. He initially served as assistant coach before being promoted to roles. full-time in 2020.
Fraley has a mix of Steelers ties with a lot of experience playing and training in the NFL. The Steelers saw the benefit of this with Mike Munchak and are clearly eyeing a similar curriculum (although few can play in Munchak’s Hall of Fame).
Earlier today, Gerry Dulac reported that the Steelers planned to hire an offensive line technician before filling the offensive coordinator position. Shortly after the end of the 2020 season, Pittsburgh announced that it would not renew Shaun Sarrett’s contract. Klemm remains on the team.