Pittsburgh Steelers Set Up For More Offensive Success in Todd Haley’s Second Year

LeVeon Bell is just one new addition for the Steelers’ offense in 2013.

For the first time in the whole game, the Denver Broncos didn’t run the ball on first down. Instead, Tim Tebow faked the ball to Willis McGahee before throwing a dart over the head of Ryan Mundy into the hands of Demaryius Thomas. Thomas sprinted away from Ike Taylor and into the endzone, the lowest point of the Steelers’ 2011 season was also the point at which their season came to a close.

Not only did that play bring down the curtain on the Steelers’ season, but it also would stand in history as the last play of Bruce Arians’ career as the team’s offensive coordinator. Arians, Hines Ward, James Farrior and William Gay would all be elsewhere soon after, but it was Arians’ loss that would cause ripple effects throughout the following season.

As soon as Arians was let go, star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made his displeasure known. Roethlisberger had grown very close to Arians, some might say too close, likely because he had always allowed him to play the game his way and not tried to force him into any particular scheme. In short, Arians let Roethlisberger be Roethlisberger.

For that reason, it was a surprise to many when the Steelers brought in Todd Haley to succeed Arians. Not only was Haley seen as a completely different coach to Arians, but he also brought a very fiery, passionate character to Pittsburgh that would potentially be destructive when juxtaposed next to Roethlisberger’s.

This was something that the national media zoned in on during the quieter parts of the off-season, as the duo not speaking initially was blown completely out of proportion. Even though the idea of a rift between the two before they even spoke was outlandish, a semblance of truth to the rumors appeared to surface during the regular season. Roethlisberger never looked comfortable in Haley’s scheme and his body language was significantly worse than it had been over the previous few seasons.

Arizona Cardinals: Jonathan Cooper is the Guard of Bruce Arians’ Dreams

Jonathan Cooper has landed with the perfect Head Coach in Arizona.

The defining moment of Super Bowl XL remains that touchdown pass that Antwaan Randle El threw to fellow wide receiver Hines Ward. Ward’s score helped the Pittsburgh Steelers seal a 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Then offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt received much of the credit for designing the play, while head coach Bill Cowher’s bravery was lauded by the franchise’s fan-base.

Often overlooked in that play is the impact of the team’s wide receivers coach, a coach by the name of Bruce Arians.

Arians would succeed Ken Whisenhunt as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator 12 months later, after Mike Tomlin took over the Steelers’ head coaching role and Whisenhunt filled the same position for the Arizona Cardinals. Arians helped his team back to the Super Bowl during his four years as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator, beating Whisenhunt’s Cardinals in the big game, but soon found himself unemployed once again.

Because of his previous work as Peyton Manning’s quarterback coach, Arians was offered the opportunity to become the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive coordinator under Chuck Pagano. Having already successfully aided the development of Manning and Ben Roethlisberger, Arians was tasked with fitting Andrew Luck into his new role as the Colts’ franchise quarterback.

Little did Arians know it, but he would quickly fill that head coaching role that had eluded him throughout his NFL career. When Pagano was diagnosed with cancer, Arians took over the mantle of interim head coach before guiding the team to an unexpected 9-3 record.

NFL Draft Represents First Step for Eight New NFL Head Coaches

In this image, every team beat the very next team if you move in a clock-wise direction.

Even after an NFL season that was full of parity, eight owners, or one quarter of the league, decided that it was time to move on from the men who had led their rosters through training camp and the regular season. Even though each of those new faces in new places will have begun to make their initial impression on the direction of their respective franchises in free agency, the first real step in their new careers will be the NFL draft.

Nobody taking over a new team ever really expects to inherit a talented roster, and even though it’s not directly a reflection of the talent on the field, seven of the new teams are picking within the top 11 of the first round, with only the Chicago Bears reaching the far depths of 20th overall.

Because of the lack of top level quarterback talent, this draft likely won’t determine how successful the new regimes will be over their spans with their franchises, but the early choices will go a long way in determining how successful they will be in the short-term. Initial impressions are always important for fans, but they can also determine how the new direction of the franchise is received within the walls.