After John Mitchell stepped away from his longtime spot as Steelers' defensive line coach, the Steelers hired Karl Dunbar from the University of Alabama to replace him.
Like we did for Tom Bradley last week, we took a look back into the units Dunbar coached over the years to find similar traits and determine where his strengths as a coach could benefit the development of the Steelers' defensive line:
Dunbar has been a defensive line coach since 1998 at Nicholls State, then bouncing between the NFL and NCAA for stints with LSU, Oklahoma State, the Vikings and others, including Alabama for the past two seasons.
Dunbar's longest stint in one place was the six years he spent with the Vikings from 2006-2011, where the Steelers' 1990 eighth-round choice first worked with Mike Tomlin. His reputation is to take over units that had potential and help them reach it after having underperforming seasons.
When you look back at Dunbar's tenure with different NFL teams, you'll notice that he's worked with some talented defensive line groups. Not only did he work with Alabama's dominating groups that included Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, but also the Jets' Muhammad Wilkerson, Damon Harrison and Sheldon Richardson and the Vikings' Jared Allen and Kevin Williams.
Payne was just selected by Washington with the 13th pick of the 2017 NFL Draft and was a powerhouse defensive tackle. In 2016, he was next to Jonathan Allen, and the two were a dynamic duo who nearly led Alabama to another national championship.
Payne specialized in being able to overpower opponents and penetrate the backfield. Watch how he charges through the offensive line and gets his hands inside of his opponent so he can drive right over him. While he doesn't finish the job with a sack, Payne shows the explosive talent he had, with the proper technique at the top of the play:
Where Payne needed to grow most was in helping against the run and finishing plays. The job of a defensive tackle against the run is to take on the brunt of the offensive line and free up space for the linebackers to come in and make the play. Payne wasn't as good at that for a while, but he eventually started to catch on and help complete the defensive front for Alabama.
Here you can see him take on a double team and keep his spot in the hole, opening up all the space for his linebackers to flow in and finish the play:
Unlike Bradley, Dunbar has worked with numerous star players in his skill group who have been drafted extremely high, both when he coached in the NCAA and in the NFL.
In 2005 the Vikings were 19th against the run and struggling to find consistency with their defensive front. But once Dunbar arrived in 2006, the defensive front shaped up to surrender the lowest amount of rushing yards in the league under Tomlin, who spent one year as defensive coordinator before being hired by the Steelers. By 2009, the Vikings had one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL, ranking as the second-best run defense and boasting two leading sack men in Allen and Ray Edwards.
Allen had 14.5 sacks that year and Edwards had 8.5. Watch how they both collapse the pocket on Aaron Rodgers in two different ways. Allen uses his patience to dodge a cut block, while Edwards uses a solid move to get around the edge:
You can notice an uptick in the performance of the different groups once Dunbar got involved. For example, Williams was a defensive tackle selected in the top 10 of the 2003 NFL Draft. In his first two seasons he made his name as an interior sack master, nabbing 10.5 and then 11.5 sacks. But in 2005 his production fell off and he was still lacking the ability to be a consistent run stopper.
After not making the Pro Bowl in 2005, Williams was named to the All Pro team for four consecutive seasons. He knew how to blow by offensive lines, just like you see here in blowing up a screen:
Dunbar helped Williams to refine his game and help against the run, just as he did for Harrison and the Jets. Before Dunbar, the Jets defense ranked 13th against the run. But in 2012 and 2013, the Jets had risen to fifth and third.
The Jets had powerful players who could win one-on-one battles, but struggled to complete plays when they didn't win at the very start of the play. Watch Richardson work on his man in the play below, gaining inside leverage and making a tackle in the Patriots' backfield:
Like Bradley, Dunbar's presence won't guarantee anything from the Steelers' players. However, Dunbar has built his resume by helping multiple teams improve their front seven and boosting them from occasional playmakers to consistent threats who dominate the line of scrimmage.
That might just be what the doctor ordered for the Steelers' front with Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Javon Hargrave. While Heyward is already a complete player, Tuitt and Hargrave are still talented young players with potential the Steelers need them to realize. If Dunbar can turn them into consistent factors on the defensive front, perhaps that can be the propelling factor that puts the defense back into the ranks of the NFL's elite.