Steelers have mercifully parted ways with the master of dink-and-dunk
By John Buhler
The Pittsburgh Steelers will have a new offensive coordinator in 2018. They will reportedly let Todd Haley walk this offseason after his contract expires.
It was a promising year that ultimately wasn’t for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite going 13-3, winning the AFC North and getting the No. 2 seed, Pittsburgh was unable to win a single playoff game this January. The Steelers fell to the No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Round 45-42 on Sunday.
It now seems that franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will have a new voice in his ear in 2018 and the two other seasons he wants to play after that. As expected, the Steelers are going to let long-time offensive coordinator Todd Haley walk this offseason once his contract with the team expires.
Sources: The #Steelers are allowing OC Todd Haley to walk now that he’s out of his contract. Pittsburgh expected to have a new OC.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 17, 2018
Though the marriage between Haley and Roethlisberger was never a smooth one, both were able to work together professionally for a few years in the wake of Bruce Arians taking the 2012 Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator job. Both Haley and Roethlisberger are great at what they do, but a clash of personalities certainly boiled over in 2018.
Haley can be a bit of a yeller, which doesn’t work to motivate Roethlisberger. Though he has previous head coaching experience with the Kansas City Chiefs, it his been his demanding demeanor that has prevented Haley from getting a second shot at being a head coach.
He will wind up somewhere good in 2018, as Haley is one of the better offensive minds in the game. Roethlisberger will obviously retire as a Steeler. If he gets his wish, he will be contending for Super Bowls through the 2020 season. This time, he will have a different voice not yelling in his ear.
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Truth be told, Haley shouldn’t be the scapegoat for Pittsburgh’s undoing in the playoffs. Head coach Mike Tomlin runs one of the loosest ships in the NFL. His players overlooked a Jaguars team that crushed them at Heinz Field in Week 5. It was a terrible coaching effort all around by the Steelers on Sunday. Moving off from Haley could help, but Tomlin must be held accountable if Pittsburgh fails to meet reasonable expectations in the coming years.