The Pittsburgh Steelers expect to have star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back for 2018, and possibly two more years after that. However, there are doubts as to whether offensive coordinator Todd Haley will still be around to call plays for him.
As Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette points out, Haley is out of contract with the Steelers, which has often been a sign that the team is ready to move on from that coordinator. The same situation happened with Haley’s predecessor, Bruce Arians, who was sent to “retirement” after his contract ran out in 2011 to bring Haley in.
Haley has done a fine job in Pittsburgh as the Steelers offense has consistently been among the very best in the league over the last few years. However, Haley apparently hasn't done as good a job maintaining positive relationships with his staff and, more importantly, key players like Roethlisberger.
Two days after their loss to New England in the AFC championship a year ago, Roethlisberger said on 93.7 The Fan that he was contemplating retirement. After he decided to return, he insisted concerns about his health, his family and recent CTE tests prompted retirement thoughts.
However, a Steelers source surmised that some biting words from Haley the day after the loss in New England prompted a frustrated Roethlisberger to bring up retirement publicly.
The coach and quarterback rarely talked along the sidelines, never huddled to discuss upcoming strategy while their defense was on the field. It came to a head when the coaches were unprepared to have a play ready when the Jesse James touchdown was overturned against New England.
If Roethlisberger does feel that he’s had enough of his relationship with his offensive coordinator, then Haley is as good as gone. As strong as Haley’s track record has been, the Steelers will obviously still put their star quarterback’s interests first.
If Haley does indeed get pushed out the door in Pittsburgh, quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner is reportedly a strong candidate to take over as offensive coordinator.
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