A former Pittsburgh Steelers player subtly blames his quarterback for their last Super Bowl loss, and Brian Flores backed out of the Cardinals HC race. Here’s the latest news.
Since Brian Flores made the decision to join the Minnesota Vikings to become their defensive coordinator, there hasn’t been much news surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers. This week, the focus around the NFL is on the upcoming Super Bowl, and rightfully so.
The latest Steelers news involves a former player subtly blaming his former quarterback for their last Super Bowl loss and the interesting decision Flores made during his job search.
Steelers news
Recently, former Steelers offensive tackle Max Starks made an appearance on 93.7 The Fan to talk about his final Super Bowl appearance. When asked what went wrong in the Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers, Starks made a comment that clearly seemed to point the blame at former quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. Here’s what Starks had to say:
"“I think we were trying to make sure guys had opportunities for bigger trophies at the end. I’ll just leave it at that… If you take one less pick away from that game, we’re talking about seven-time Super Bowl Champions instead of just six-time.”"
It’s hard to interpret this any other way, as Roethlisberger was clearly the one who threw a pair of interceptions in this game — resulting in a 77.4 passer rating in the 25-31 Super Bowl loss. This long after the fact, Starks’ statements seemed a bit unnecessary, but he clearly wanted to get something off his chest for a while now.
More Steelers news
In other Steelers news, Brian Flores recently joined the Vikings. However, many fans were wondering what ever happened with the second interview he was supposed to get with the Arizona Cardinals. Apparently, he didn’t want it.
On new #Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores withdrawing from #Cardinals head coaching search, several league sources emphasized how many potential head coaching jobs will be open in 2024 and was a consideration for former #Dolphins head coach
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) February 7, 2023
NFL reporter Aaron Wilson confirmed that Flores withdrew from the running for the Cardinals’ HC job. This could certainly have something to do with how many projected head coaching jobs could open up in 2024. Instead of being a finalist for an HC job this year, Flores will look to improve the Vikings defense and see what opportunities present themselves in the future.
NFL news
In NFL news, Michael Irvin will not be a part of NFL Network’s Super Bowl LVII coverage after allegations of misconduct at a hotel Sunday night, the network announced. Irvin — a former Dallas Cowboys star and Hall of Famer — seemed perplexed at this decision. Here’s what he had to say, via Tyler Greenawalt of Yahoo Sports:
"“Honestly, I’m a bit baffled with it all,” Irvin told the Morning News. “This all happened in a 45-second conversation in the lobby. When I got back after going out … I came into the lobby, and I talked to somebody. I talked to this girl. I don’t know her, and I talked to her for about 45 seconds. We shook hands. Then, I left. … That’s all I know.“I don’t really recall that conversation, to tell you the truth. We were out drinking. It was just a friendly conversation. ‘What’s up?’ I don’t even know. … I am totally perplexed.”"
Irvin has been an analyst for NFL Network since 2009. No other updates have been released about this situation at this time.