When the Pittsburgh Steelers looked back after their 2011 season, it was with a bitter taste in their mouths. The painful knowledge of being the superior team, but losing to a Tim Tebow-led Denver Broncos in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs loomed. Since winning Super Bowl XLIII, Pittsburgh had stumbled more than anyone in the organization or fanbase deemed acceptable. The result was that offensive coordinator, Bruce Arians, was no longer a part of the Steelers and Todd Haley was brought in to right the ship.
Steelers Find No Greener Grass With Haley
The Steelers quickly discovered that, while Haley and Roethlisberger had enjoyed success separately, the two being put together sparked some negative results. The front office continually downplayed the issues between the quarterback and coordinator, but things never really seemed friendly between the two.
Roethlisberger and Arians won one Super Bowl and appeared in a second together. The future Hall of Famer's time with Haley had nothing close to that level of success and it will be remembered by most to be as the time that the Steelers wasted the combination of Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown (The Killer B's).
The Haley experiment lasted until the end of the 2017 season, and Haley was fired leading to the the start of Randy Fichtner era as offensive coordinator. Some attribute Roethlisberger's evolution from a "gunslinger" to a more patient, pocket-centered quarterback to Haley's influence, but the consistent reports of discord during Haley's tenure speak more to Roethlisberger's influence than his coordinator's.
Just More Of The Same
It has been five years since Haley left Pittsburgh, but from what occurred at a recent USFL game between the Birmingham Stallions and the Memphis Showboats, not much has changed for him.
Haley was brought on as Head Coach of the Showboats prior to the 2023 season, thanks to a relationship with the general manager, Dave Razzano, who was Haley's superior with the Arizona Cardinals. On Saturday night, the Stallions hammered Haley's Showboats by a score of 42-2 and while the score may have been brutal, the way Haley decided to end the game brought some criticism.
According to a tweet from WMC Action News sports anchor, Matt Infield, Haley took offense to the way Birmingham didn't ease up despite the game being long gone:
Birmingham head coach, Skip Holtz, was asked after the game what he thought of the exchange between him and Haley, but rather than stoke the flames, Holtz chose to throw water on the fire. The USFL Twitter account posted a video showing how Holtz downplayed the encounter with Haley:
Steelers May Have Dodged A Bullet
Whether it is the difficult relationship that Haley had with Roethlisberger, the missed opportunities in Pittsburgh despite overwhelming talent, his apparent inept coaching and aggression post-game, or the infamous scuffle that occurred at Tequila Cowboy on New Year's Eve in 2018, it seems that Haley can't help manifesting trouble wherever he is.
The damage may have been done by the time Haley was let go from his Steelers' post, but Tomlin probably foresaw the continuing difficulties if something wasn't done.
It doesn't let Matt Canada off the hook by any margin, but at least with Haley no longer a Pittsburgh problem, no one will have to worry about any handshake scuffles in the near future. What are your thoughts on Haley's temper?
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