Mike Munchak Served Penalty After Pushing Altercation With Reggie Nelson

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak has been retired from playing in the NFL since 1993. Since then, he had been coaching for primarily the Tennessee Titans including two years as the head coach. After his firing last year, he was hired as the offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers last year.

During Saturday night’s wild-card playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Munchak was part of a penalty that was called against the Steelers which resulted in a 15-yard gain for the Bengals. Towards the end of the first quarter, Bengals safety Reggie Nelson ran out-of-bounds after a running play and got tangled up with Munchak’s play sheet. This caused both men to push each other while Munchak held onto Nelson’s long hair.

The two were separated by officials and the play resulted in the penalty flag being thrown for a personal foul on Munchak and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin not being happy after the play.

This was the first confrontation between the two rival teams through the game with both teams having more matches towards the end of the game. Because of the Bengals inability to compose themselves, the Steelers would go on to win the game 18-16 to advance to the Divisional playoffs next weekend. Meanwhile, this is the seventh straight playoff loss for the Bengals that they have suffered since head coach Marvin Lewis has been running the team.

Photo: NASHVILLE, TN – NOVEMBER 17: Mike Munchak, offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, looks on during the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Titans at LP Field on November 17, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 27-24. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Article by Ryan Kappy