According to a report out of Kansas City, the Steelers are going to hire former Chiefs head coach Todd Haley as their new offensive coordinator.
Haley would replace Bruce Arians, who was fired by the team last month.
Haley is known for a confrontational style and is not afraid of getting in a player's face.
That's an approach the Steelers seem ready to embrace after feeling that Arians was too friendly with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
An Upper St. Clair graduate, Haley is the son of Midway native Dick Haley, a longtime Steelers' personnel director.
I would guess, based upon Haley's reputation, that Tomlin has thought about how to keep Todd's "mouth" in check...
ReplyDeleteI don't recall Haley having any problems with his former HC's.
ReplyDeleteIf the Pats OC O'Brien can yell at Brady maybe Haley can yell at Ben now and again and it won't be the end of the world.
I do not understand this need to have Ben yelled at. Ben isn't a young kid, he's 30 now.
ReplyDeleteBen was having a pretty awesome year until his ankle was mangled.
Most teams like it when their OC and QB have a good relationship.
If he can take some time off from yelling at Ben (which I think would be awesome, nonsensical or not), Haley can also get in Boldin's face if one of our corners is having trouble vs. the Ravens next year.
ReplyDeleteEh, who knows, maybe it will only be a boring yet noticeable improvement over Arians.
Just don't bug Todd's office or let him near Josh McDaniels.
He definitely ran a good offense in AZ. I think we all remember that Super Bowl they went to. Probably isn't too far from the offense the Steelers would like to run. Tomlin & front office have a pretty good history of keeping heads in check.
ReplyDeleteIMHO, the fact that Haley grew up around the Steelers means he'll be respectful of the Rooneys and keep his emotions in check.
ReplyDeleteIt's not necessarily the fact that he'll yell at Roethlisberger as much as he won't just blindly do whatever the QB wants. It will be more of a boss-employee relationship than the previous one.
ReplyDeleteI'm not predicting this to solve all the offensive problems, but I like this move because this offense needed a shake up. Randy fichtner would be the same ol same. This is at least a fresh perspective.
ReplyDeleteDale I expect Kugler to remain, any chance he doesn't? Or any other assistants?
Haley is on Whisenhunt's coaching tree, isn't he? Interesting to see that element being brought back to the 'Burgh.
ReplyDeleteWhy would other assistants leave?
ReplyDeleteIf Haley wanted to bring his own? It wouldn't be that fair fetched if he wanted a different style oline coach. Though that was probably discussed well ahead of time and Kugler has been good.
ReplyDeleteYou think rooney told ben in their little meeting, ownwers own, coaches coach and players play? Now take a seat while we bring in a coach whose instruction we expect you to follow.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little bit of a risky hire, but it could bring an attitude to the offense.
Unless Haley like REALLY needed it, I doubt the steelers would do that to a coach they are comfortable with. Let's face it, Kugler has made chicken salad out of chicken **** the past couple of years
ReplyDeletewouldn't surprise me if they do let him bring someone in for say, offensive assistant
Patrick - they hired Haley not Haley + all his friends
ReplyDeleteIdiot
"Let's face it, Kugler has made chicken salad out of chicken **** the past couple of years"
ReplyDeleteI always hear people say this, but since no one actually thinks the OL is any good, wouldn't that mean Kugler has made chicken **** out of chicken ****?
I agree Kugler has really done a good job with the players he had on the OL.I think Haley and Kugler need to get together and Get themselves another quality OL.
ReplyDeleteThe Steelers made the offer, so they clearly had an agenda in mind. I'm guessing they conditioned their offer on Haley's willingness to accept the current coaching staff.
ReplyDeleteHaley strikes me as a guy who makes a great Offensive Coordinator and not such a good head coach. I'd remind his detractors that the same can be said of Dick LeBeau.
I love it.
ReplyDeleteAnd how do we know that Haley will yell at Ben? And how do we know that they won't get along? It seems that everyone is assuming that Ben and Haley would be oil and water. It is possible to have a respectful working relationship even if it's not buddy buddy. It's also possible to make new friends and enjoy working for/with someone who is a superior.
It seems to me that all the speculation that this relationship will not work and be extremely negative and not received well by Ben is based on the assumption that Ben is ticked off by BA being let go.
When did Ben say he was ticked off and angry about it? In the interview I heard (the audio, not the out of context quotes), Ben seemed very respectful, teachable and even said that he thought BA was ready for a change as well.
I couldn't be more excited for what Haley will bring to the offense.
This is still Tomlin's team... not Haley's... what is this argument about Offensive assistants... pretty stupid... There is a RB Coach vacancy if Wilson doesnt come back, Haley may recommend someone.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, He isn't a hotshot Coach. He is a tainted, fired, labeled crazy, coach who has no leverage in any negotiation, whatsoever.
Haley is a guy looking to rehab his rep. He'll put his best foot foward.
ReplyDeleteSteelers shouldn't have to change much with this hire, Haley coached in AZ which basically ran our same offense. We probably won't even have to change our terminology.
ReplyDeleteI was one of those who believed in the offensive strategy of run-first, control the clock, keep your 3-4 D fresh.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think that Ben has proven he can control the clock with the short-to-medium passing game, and Haley will be good for this.
Now if he can fix our red-zone offense, I'm on board.
Interesting article concerning Haley's relationship with prior QB"s and players..
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/58846/cardinals-bank-on-future-without-haley
If this is true, I'm not entirely sold. An OC getting into it with players on the sideline is silly and not a "wake up call."
ReplyDeleteThis is a guy who got a personal foul...as a coach in his last game before getting fired.
He claims the team bugged his phone (maybe they did, but talking about it with no proof is a little nuts).
Did anyone see him on that NFL 100 show on NFL Network? He looked strung out. I don't think he's on anything but this guy does not instill confidence in me.
Fingers crossed. I do like him better than Caldwell, at least.
I'm not sure of every hire Tomlin has made on the coaching staff but Kugler and Lake stand out as people that have coached up positions in need. I like his track record.
ReplyDeleteI think Haley will be happier coaching the Steelers than he has been anywhere else. It seemed in his NBC interview before the Sunday night game that he was still very enamored with the Steelers. It is a good organization to reboot his career. And Tomlin will probably be a good influence on him.
Hopefully Haley will be a good influence on a young O and fresh eyes will give us a (1) a more productive redzone O, (2) the ability to control the clock in the 4th Q and (3) get Ben to preserve his career and health a bit in his 30s.
Kyle,
ReplyDeleteI thought it sounded crazy too but then read that it wouldn't surprise anyone who knows the owners of the Chiefs who are apparently the complete opposite of the Rooney's in just about every way.
I think (hope) this move will be good for Haley and the Steelers.
Also congrats to the Mara family for the Giant's Superbowl win. Remember if the Mara's were like the Steinbrenner's, the NFL would look a lot more like MLB with the big market teams buying up all of the best players.
Santonio is a guy looking to rehab his rep. He'll put his best foot forward.
ReplyDeleteHaynesworth is a guy looking to rehab his rep. He'll put his best foot forward.
Pacman is a guy looking to rehab his rep. He'll put his best foot forward.
TO is a guy looking to rehab his rep. He'll put his best foot forward.
Lane Kiffin is a guy looking to rehab his rep. He'll put his best foot forward.
Petrino is a guy looking to rehab his rep. He'll put his best foot forward.
Todd Graham is a guy looking to rehab his rep. He'll put his best foot forward.
Dale, sorry if I am late to the party, but did Tunch Ilkin's wife pass away? That is very sad news if true.
ReplyDeleteSorry, how were Kiffin, Petrino and Graham looking to rehab their images?
ReplyDeleteThey got what they considered better job offers and took them.
As for the players, what do they care about their image? There's always another sucker out there willing to pay.
Speaking of suckers willing to pay... Haley has a legit shot of being a head coach in the NFL again, as soon as next year. There's no end to the recycling system of HCs with crappy track records.
ReplyDeleteSo I believe he will do what he has to do to make a statistically high ranking offense. Will he listen to Tomlin or the Rooneys? Maybe, if it coincides with what he thinks is best. I just hope he cares more about points than yards.
They're not. That's the point. They're still the same tools they've always been.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure everywhere all these guys went, there was plenty of similarly meaningless prose written.