How Eddie Faulkner Plans to Improve Steelers Offense
PITTSBURGH -- Eddie Faulkner learned just two days ago that he would be taking over as the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator for the remainder of the season. And immediately, he turned his attention to building a plan to help things improve.
Faulkner, the Steelers running back coach since 2019, said his biggest goal is to take what he's done with the running back room and implement it into running the offense. That starts with organization.
"I'm a real detail guy. That's how I operate," Faulkner said. "That's how I have to operate. And that's how I operate in the running back room, so that's how I'm gonna operate anything that has to do with the offense or with our staff. To make sure we're squeezing down, we're tightening it up, we're closing all the space. So we go into a game and these guys can execute and play fast. That's that's the focus."
Faulkner said there isn't much you can do to make wholesale changes to the team's offensive scheme or playbook, but rather work with it to find ways that players can succeed with what's being called.
Then there's simply coming together. While Faulkner is the offensive coordinator, the team will need to rely on all aspects of the coaching staff and locker room to find the perfect product on the field.
"I feel like if you get around a bunch of different, good, capable men, you empower them to do their job. And we got a bunch of really good coaches. All across the board, we got guys in our auxiliary staff and offense who have been coordinators for a long time. Why wouldn't you use all of those resources," Faulkner said. "So, that's what I'm doing. So I told the guys, that's what we're gonna do. And I talked to them about communicating with each other. It all comes back down to communicating. How can we funnel our energy to communicate with each other to produce a better product? That's it. And that's where my main focus is gonna be to make sure we're in lockstep, and guys are coordinated that way."
Faulkner expressed his gratitude for the opportunity with the Steelers, and said he feels as if his time in Pittsburgh has been "well spent." But, for now, he's putting all of his attention into finding a way to win against the Bengals, and going 1-0 as the team's new offensive coordinator.
"The way this all happened, there's no time to get caught up in any of that," Faulkner said. "We gotta play the Bengals in a couple days. And that was it. That was my sole focus. There was really no 'oh, this could segway into this.' This was all about getting ready for the Bengals, and that's been my only focus, I promise you."
Make sure you bookmark All Steelers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
Steelers New OC Sends Message to Fans, Team
George Pickens Suffers Surprise Injury
It's Personal: Kenny Pickett Reacts to Matt Canada Firing
Ben Roethlisberger Among Favorites for Steelers Next OC
