Paul Zeise: “Wouldn’t you love to have Todd Haley back at this point?” Haley’s numbers “were the best in Steeler history”

… three OC’s in four years, and where are we?

Here is one prediction that I will stand by after I reach my grave: Ben Roethlisberger will never, ever be an offensive coordinator. He has ruined his share, but he will never receive a Phi Beta Kappa key for his knowledge of offensive football. 

However, it is not his fault that the Steeler offense is such a mess. That is above his intellectual and operational grade. 

With Matt Canada being the third offensive coordinator for Mike Tomlin in the past four years, you would think that people would blame the person most responsible for the morass. 

Yes, that man is Mike Tomlin, closely followed by Art Rooney II. If things do not turn around — and fast — their heads would be the ones on the chopping block. And while many in the Pittsburgh media refuse to acknowledge this, Rooney could be the one who is asked to step down as CEO. Since he owns just 30 percent of the team, and since many of the smaller owners are very upset with Tomlin and the state of affairs of the team, asking Rooney to step aside as CEO is not far from reality. 

First, though, let’s look at the OC situation. 

Zeise a breath of fresh air at PG

Many of the writers at the Post-Gazette worship the ground that the higher-ups walk on, which hinders their objectivity. Ron Cook is not that way, and now a younger man, Paul Zeise, has been critical of the Steelers incessantly over the past year,

A few weeks ago, he wrote this,

But after watching three weeks of this current mess of an offense, that’s exactly what they should be saying.

Actually, forget about Fichtner — wouldn’t you love to have Todd Haley back at this point?

Haley’s offense was Bill Walsh-level genius compared to what we have witnessed from the Steelers ever since he was shoved out the door and replaced by Fichtner. Haley’s offense at least had structure. There was a plan, it made sense and it was almost always productive in both the run and pass games.

The Steelers’ current offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, looks like a college coach trying to out-scheme NFL coaches. It looks like a college offense designed for the college game, and Canada’s play calling suggests he is completely in over his head in the NFL. 

Mike Tomlin, who presumably hired Canada, said Sunday after the Steelers’ 24-10 loss to the Bengals that this was a total team effort. He said the players didn’t play well enough and the coaches didn’t coach well enough. He was then asked about what he thinks about Canada’s growth as a coordinator and he was not interested in that discussion.

“We are not playing well enough,” Tomlin answered. “Frame it however the hell you want to frame it.”

Paul Zeise, “Matt Canada is clearly in over his head as Steelers                                       offensive coordinator,” Post-Gazette, September 27, 2021

Mikey was a little snippy there as he realizes that he is in big trouble. If they lose to the Broncos, a team that has three victories over teams that have a collective record of 1-11, things might become even testier.

Haley’s numbers

Zeise knows what he is talking about with Haley's offense. The numbers tell the tale.

Roethlisberger hated Haley from the outset because he replaced the QB’s buddy, Bruce Arians, who let Ben do what he pleased. Ben wanted to throw long, they threw long. Ben wanted to ignore the running game, they ignored the running game as much as they could. 

Haley came in with the directive to do two things: First, protect the QB who was sacked with ridiculous regularity under Arians. Second, put in a running game to go along with a very effective play-action scheme — which Roethlisberger hated and still does. 

Look at the improvement of the offense during those six years, which admittedly, were helped by the development of a strong offensive line,

Todd Haley Offensive Numbers

2012 21st in yardage, 22nd in points

2013 20th, 16th

2014 2nd, 7th

2015 3rd, 4th

2016 7th, 10th

2017 3rd, 8th

Ben Roethlisberger, selected to pro bowl four of six years

QB numbers under Haley

2012 3,265 yards

2013 4,261

2014 4,952

2015 3,938

2016 3,819

2017 4,251

Total: 24,486 of Roethlisberger’s 60,348 [by 2020], 41 percent of his yardage, in Haley’s six seasons.

Sacks went from 42 in Arians’ last year to 17 in Haley’s last.

Pro-Football Reference

Why does Tomlin fire OC’s?

Tomlin has had five offensive coordinators in his tenure. Arians for five and Haley for six had the longest tenures, but now three in the past four years. With Arians and Haley, there was some stability. 

Then with Randy Fitchner and now Canada, it appears that they took the cheapest route. In fact, Canada had never been an NFL OC until this year, had not held an NFL coaching position until Tomlin hired him as QB coach last year. 

From 2010 to 2018, Canada had been an OC at seven different college programs: Indiana, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, NC State, LSU, and Maryland. Four of those were one-year stints. 

He was the highest paid OC in the nation at LSU before being summarily fired after one season. 

And this is the stability that Tomlin sought?