This past off-season, the Pittsburgh Steelers made a coaching change by relieving offensive coordinator Bruce Arians of his duties and hiring Todd Haley, former Head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, to replace him. Most Steeler fans applauded the move. Many said, including myself, that Bruce Arians system had become too predictable. That the offense simply wasn’t scoring the points necessary to win games. The red zone scoring was atrocious. Another issue that arose with Arians was that he was best friends with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. It didn’t seem that they could do their jobs the right way because they wanted to avoid conflict. No, it didn’t seem like an NFL quarterback and NFL offensive coordinator working together, it seemed more like an embarrassing game of patty-cake on an NFL sideline. Fan wanted to see a fiery coach, a rah-rah, get in your face, and knock you upside your head type of coach. Sort of like Bill O’Brien lighting up Tom Brady on the sideline last season. So they hired the man for the job. Ex head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, Todd Haley.
Bruce Arians was offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh for five seasons, from 2007 to 2011, assisting the team to a Super Bowl title, and an AFC Championship. But somewhere along the line, it seemed that the defense was carrying the team, as they should have been, but the offense was just going along for the ride. They were scoring when they needed to, and it was putting too much pressure on the defense. In Arians last season with Pittsburgh, his offense was ranked 21st in scoring points. That is too low for this highly talented offense lead by Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Heath Miller. But was one terrible season enough to fire a man that seemed to have lots of success?
Todd Haley’s first season to me at first was mediocre at best. I thought of it as a step up from Bruce Arians, a man Steeler fans love to hate. But if you look at the success of the team this year (not much), and after reviewing the stats, I’m not so sure that Haley is better than Arians. I know that it is hard to judge a coach after one season, but Arians first season with the Steelers was considerably better than Haley’s. You also have to take into account that Haley had to deal with some tough injuries on offense this year, with Ben Roethlisberger missing 4 games, and Antonio Brown missing some games as well. But Haley also had arguably a better offensive line than Bruce Arians ever had.
You can argue injuries played a part in the lack of scoring this season for the Steelers, but Arians dealt with his fair share of injuries and suspensions in his time, so if you ask me, when comparing the two, you almost have to throw that completely out the window.
When I look at stats, a more important factor to me than the numbers is how the numbers compare to the rest of the league. It’s all fine and dandy if the Steelers throw for 10 more touchdowns per year with Haley than with Arians, but if the rest of league is scoring 20 more per year, then it really doesn’t matter. The league is progressing into more and more of a scoring league thanks to Roger Goodell’s rules he has put in place in recent years.
The goal of any offense in sports is to score points. It doesn’t really matter how you do it, it just matters if you do it. Whether you run, or pass, or fake punt every single play, if you’re scoring a lot, you’re doing your job, if you’re not, then you’re failing your job. That’s the bottom line.
Here is a look at the offensive rank among the league in scoring points from 2007 through the 2012 season. Note that the 2012 season was coached by Haley.
Season League Rank
2007 9
2008 20
2009 12
2010 12
2011 21
2012 22
In his 5 seasons with Pittsburgh, Bruce Arians managed to keep his offense in the top 21 in the league all 5 years, 3 of those years in the top 12. In Todd Haley’s first season with Pittsburgh, Haley managed to have a worse scoring offense than Arians ever had compared to the rest of the league. Arians 1, Haley 0.
The next stat I would like to take a look at is total yardage compared to the rest of the league.
Season League Rank
2007 17
2008 22
2009 7
2010 14
2011 12
2012 21
This season, Todd Haley managed to have a season quite similar to the season Bruce Arians had in 2008, a year in which the Steeler won Super Bowl XLIII. That was also arguably Bruce Arians worst season statistically. Todd Haley managed to improve the offense hardly any by a comparison stand-point. This season was a lot like last, and worse than the previous two seasons on the offensive side of the ball. Arians 2, Haley 0
A look at the Passing Yards, Touchdowns, and Interceptions statistics in the past 6 seasons.
Steelers Passing
Season Yards Touchdowns Interceptions
2007 3071 34 14
2008 3301 19 15
2009 4148 28 14
2010 3601 22 9
2011 4054 21 15
2012 3787 27 14
Steelers League Ranks in Passing
Season Yards Touchdowns Interceptions
2007 22 3 6
2008 17 18 16
2009 9 7 12
2010 14 21 4
2011 10 13 17
2012 14 8 12
Once again, Haley is right in line with Arians, if not worse statistically. Bruce Arians average in his 5 years was 3,635 yards per season, 24.8 touchdowns per season, and 13.4 interceptions per year. Haley did not cut down on interceptions, 14 vs. 13.8, Scored 2 more passing touchdowns, and threw for barley over 100 yard more than the average. We will say that from a passing standpoint, it is a draw. Haley had not a better or worse season that Arians had in his 5 years in Pittsburgh.
And before you say, “Ben was out for 4 games this season, and so was Antonio Brown”, I remind you that Roethlisberger was suspended for 4 games in 2010. Haley is not the only coach to have to overcome a missing player. That argument doesn’t sail.
The Rushing was substantially worse this season as well, though the talent level at the running back position may have had something to do with it. In 2012, the Steelers gained a measly 1,537 yards on the ground, with only 8 touchdowns and 3.7 yards per carry average. All of those statistics being the lower 8 teams in the league in rushing. For the Steelers, that is truly unacceptable.
Rushing League Rank
Season Yards Touchdowns Yards Per Carry
2007 3 22 7
2008 23 11 29
2009 19 20 16
2010 11 8 18
2011 14 15 11
2012 26 27 28
If you look at Arians stats, once again, his worst season was the 2008 season, a season when the Steelers prevailed as Super Bowl Champions. Haley had a worse season on the ground in yards gained and touchdowns, than Bruce Arians ever had. Arians 3, Haley 0
In the end, if someone asks me who was a better offensive coordinator for the Steelers, Haley or Arians, after Todd Haley’s first season, I will tell them Todd Haley. Is Haley terrible? No. I try not to judge anyone too much after one season. I would give Haley another season, but if he left, would I cry about it? Not one bit. Do I wish we would have kept Bruce Arians? That answer is a no as well. Arians may have been better than Haley, but not by much, and neither of them have had the success I expect in a team like the Steelers.
Final Score
Arians 3
Haley 0
I don't write big articles often, so any pointers or criticism from those of you who do write is greatly appreciated, and all of you, let me know what you think.
