Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike Tomlin explains why he moved on from Todd Haley
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a new offensive coordinator, and for the first time, head coach Mike Tomlin speaks on the decision to make Randy Fichtner the new man in charge.
After another season of conflict, poor play calling and no Super Bowl, the Pittsburgh Steelers made a coaching change that’s been anticipated for years. Todd Haley, who now runs the Cleveland Browns’ offense, wasn’t a well-liked man in the Pittsburgh area.
So, with change needed to be made, Mike Tomlin decided the fault of a unsuccessful 2017 season was going to land on Haley’s shoulders. Moving Randy Fitchner from quarterback coach to offensive coordinator, Haley’s time in the Steel City came to an end.
Tomlin didn’t say the decision had anything to do with what most believed, though. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger decided to return to the team for the next few season, but has made it clear over the years that he isn’t a fan of Haley’s coaching. After the coaching fire, many believed Roethlisberger may have had some influence on the decision to make a move.
"“We got to keep moving,” Tomlin told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We were having some success when we made the change to Todd Haley (from Bruce Arians). That’s the nature of our business. It was the appropriate time and, just as important, I thought I had the appropriate guy to assume the role. I’m excited about moving forward with Randy.”"
Apparently, that wasn’t the case. According to Tomlin, it was just time to make a change in the coaching staff and Haley was the one to go. Whether that’s true or not will remain unknown and behind the scenes. But for Tomlin, Haley’s firing came solely on the decision that something needed to be different in 2018.
Roethlisberger is expected to have much more say in the offense this season with Fichtner running the show. Whether that’s true or not won’t be known to the public, but the team should see more of his play-calling than Fichtner’s during the season.
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No matter what the reasons for Haley’s departure, though, fans are happy to see him gone. The Steelers needed a new face somewhere on this team, and Haley was the clear cut choice for the last several years. With a new man in charge, Pittsburgh and their fans will be excited to see how the offense flows in 2018.