Steelers Hire Captain Kangaroo
By chris
Meet Al Everest, expected to be the next special teams coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sure looks like a ball of fire, doesn’t he? I guess if his kick coverage units don’t work out, he always has the fall back of hosting a kiddie show on WQED. A group of preschoolers hopped up on sugar would probably have more lane discipline than the Steelers showed this year anyway.
Actually, Grandpa Al was the special teams coach for the 49ers this past year. He’s a football lifer, whose coaching resume dates all the way back to the early 70’s. He’s coached just about everywhere, from a semi-pro league in Italy to Arena Football. Hopefully he can draw on his wealth of experience and straighten out the coverage mess which cost the Steelers dearly this past season.
Joining him on the 2010 staff will be Sean Kugler. Kugler, formerly of the Toronto Buffalo Bills, is the team’s new offensive line coach. I ignore the Bills, as does everybody outside of upstate New York, but I do know they’ve been a fairly good running team the past few seasons. They even had a Pro Bowler at LT who they stupidly traded away rather than pay what he’s worth. It’s that kind of crack management that brings about Chan Gailey as your head coach. In any event, you’re only as good as the talent you work with so Kugler will have his work cut out for him next season.
Completing the coaching merry-go-round, the Steelers promoted WRs coach Randy Fichtner to QBs coach. Fichtner was an offensive coordinator for Memphis when Mike Tomlin was down there getting his start so they go way back. He’s been here since Tomlin took over and (Limas “Butterfingers” Sweed aside) he’s done a fantastic job developing wide receivers. Even Nate Washington improved by leaps and bounds after Fichtner got here. Moving him over to the QBs coach where he can make sure Ben and his wide outs are on the same page is a natural fit. Of course, Ben has to actually follow his advice and, as desk clerks out in Reno will attest, we all know Big Ben isn’t always the best listener.
Finally, for those of you still watching football, I’m sure you’re happy that the Trifecta of Hate (Baltimore, New England, and Dallas) have all disgraced themselves in this year’s playoffs. Dreamboat Brady and Peepin’ Bill self-destructed in the Wild Card round while basically handing the Ratbirds the game on a silver platter. When Baltimore actually had to, you know, EARN a victory, they folded like cheap lawn chairs. I love how in his second year, Joe Flacco puts up some of the most pathetic passing numbers in playoff history while in Ben’s second he was putting on a ring. Meanwhile, those buffoons out in Dallas got their one playoff win and then didn’t bother to show up against Minnesota. Then again, neither did Pittsburgh West (Arizona) who surrendered over 90 points while playing some of the worst playoff defense I’ve ever seen. At this point, the playoffs have lost interest for me as the one team I liked is gone while the teams I hate have also fallen by the wayside.
Man, if only the Steelers hadn’t gone into that November swoon. After watching some of these “playoff” teams, I’m more confident than ever that the Black and Gold would’ve done some damage had they gotten invited to the dance.