Mike Mularkey: "Inspector Gadget" Enjoying Great Success with Falcons

Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey has cemented his philosophy in just one year.

As a coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers for eight years (1996-2003), Mularkey’s smash mouth approach was incredibly successful. 

Iconic Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis benefited from exceptional runblocking from his tight ends (who Mularkey coached for five years), rattling off five straight 1,000-yard seasons.

Pittsburgh was, and still is, known for its tough, physical offensive nature.

After his promotion to offensive coordinator, Mularkey took advantage of multi-talented weapons like wide receiver Hines Ward (a quarterback and cornerback in college) and wide receiver Antwaan Randle El (also a quarterback in college). 

He drew up trick plays and flexed his creative muscle to get the ball into their hands, earning the nickname, “Inspector Gadget.”

Opposing defenses were forced to respect the run and watch out for trickery from Ward and Randle El, all while handling big Ben Roethlisberger. 

With Roethlisberger under center, Mularkey knew his quarterback would limit mistakes and trust in his offensive philosophy: Run the ball.

After Pittsburgh, Mularkey tried his hand at head coaching, but led Buffalo to zero playoff appearances and a 14-18 record in two seasons. After the 2005 season, Buffalo’s general manager was fired, and Mularkey resigned.

Mularkey was brought in to Atlanta after two seasons in Miami. He joined new head coach Mike Smith in the great rebuilding of the Falcons, following the disastrous departures of quarterback Michael Vick and head coach Bobby Petrino.

Smith is well known for his tough and physical game plan as well.

Atlanta’s greatest strength for years was its successful rushing attack, Mularkey’s strength as a coach. Though the D.V.D. days are long gone, Mularkey has a new pair of weapons to utilize in his physical offense: Jerious Norwood and Michael Turner.

In fact, the two backs perfectly represent the two sides of any Mularkey offense.

Norwood is the versatile, multi-talented back who can rush up the middle, catch passes on the outside, return kicks, and even set up under center in a modified wildcat formation, much like Ward and Randle El did.

Turner is the tough, bruising back. Supported by the excellent blocking of fullback Ovie Mughelli, Turner knocked defensive lines onto their backs every week.

Mularkey’s years with Bettis in Pittsburgh and Willis McGahee in Buffalo have proven great primers for best utilizing Turner.

The physical running game he brought to Atlanta opened up the passing options as defenses had to respect the explosive duo in the backfield. This meant easing the pressure off rookie quarterback Matt Ryan, who went on to win Rookie of the Year.

Though courted by the Detroit Lions to fill their head coaching vacancy this offseason, Mularkey decided to stay in Atlanta.

The potential to coach Ryan, Turner, and Norwood for the better part of a decade may have been too good to deny.

Scott Miller is the creator of www.DirtySouthSports.com and also covers the Falcons for www.NFLTouchdown.com