Obvious as it was for the 2021 season, Kendrick Green had no business being the Pittsburgh Steelers center. A rookie who primarily played guard in college snapping to an 18-year vet like QB Ben Roethlisberger and tasked with replacing Maurkice Pouncey, Green should\u2019ve been on the sidelines. That\u2019s not outside conjecture. Looking back, that\u2019s how Mike Tomlin and Green himself felt.<\/p>\n
Appearing on Brieden Fehoko\u2019s podcast Tuesday evening,<\/a> Green revisited his difficult first year in the league.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in way over my head as a rookie,\u201d Green told Fehoko.<\/p>\n Green was one of two Steelers\u2019 rookie linemen to start the year as Pittsburgh hit a hard reset on the decade-long group consisting of David DeCastro, Ramon Foster, Pouncey, and others. The 2022 group was cobbled together through free agent signings and draft picks. Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle, Trai Turner at right guard, Green at center.<\/p>\n Green\u2019s struggles were quickly evident. His lack of size created matchup issues against bigger nose tackles. Coming off a vet like Pouncey, Green acknowledged the offense ran through the center, putting additional pressure on Green to make line calls. Leaving him little time to think about how to block anyone.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m telling everybody what to do\u2026I\u2019m like, how do I block this dude?\u201d Green said. \u201cWhat\u2019s my technique? I\u2019m spinning. I think looking back, I had no business being out there as a rookie. I was not ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Green admitted backup J.C. Hassenauer was \u201cway more qualified\u201d to play than him. By year\u2019s end, Hassenauer took over for Green, including for the team\u2019s Wild Card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.<\/p>\n While Green was chided by fans in the public sphere, Tomlin was critical of the coaching staff internally.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m in a team meeting every week. \u2018KG we gotta get this, this cleaned up, yada yada, yada. I\u2019m not no line coach, [o-line coach Adrian Klemm], fix that shit,’\u201d Green said of Tomlin\u2019s message. \u201cIt would be just that. He would literally say that. \u2018I\u2019m not a line coach, Klemm, that shit needs to be fixed yesterday.’\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout the interview, Green was careful to call out then-offensive line coach Adrian Klemm, but he made it clear Klemm didn\u2019t help develop his game and taught techniques that simply didn\u2019t work. Klemm didn\u2019t even last one full season with the team, leaving to take a job at Oregon<\/a> before the year concluded.<\/p>\n Comparatively, Green praised Aaron Kromer, his o-line coach in Buffalo for the 2025 season. Kromer retired this offseason with former Steelers\u2019 offensive line coach Pat Meyer replacing him.<\/p>\n The following year, the Steelers signed veteran Mason Cole, sending Green to the bench. He didn\u2019t play a snap his sophomore season and by his third year, the team was moving on.<\/p>\n