Photo: cleveland.com
- Adam ParkerThe Pittsburgh Steelers will reportedly hire former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley as their new offensive coordinator, a source told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.
Haley will fill the void left by Bruce Arians, who is now the offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts after the Steelers chose to let his contract expire.
The 45-year-old Haley, fired by Kansas City on Dec. 13, went 19-26 in two-plus seasons with the Chiefs, leading them to a 2010 AFC West title.
Haley spent a decade in the NFL as an assistant before becoming the top man in Kansas City. He was the offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals in 2007-08, who, along with a resurgent Kurt Warner, helped orchestrate the offense that eventually led the Cardinals to their only Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Haley's offense recorded a Cardinals franchise record 427 points and became the fifth team in NFL history to have three receiver eclipse 1,000 yards in the same season.
The Cardinals, however, came up just short in a 27-23 loss in Super Bowl XLIII to the same Pittsburgh Steelers he will soon be coaching.
Fast forward to this season where the Steelers finished 12-4, but lost the AFC North title to the Baltimore Ravens after dropping both matchups against their bitter rival in the regular season.
The Chiefs were even worse off, garnering a 5-8 mark when Haley was handed his walking papers. Needless to say, Haley's last hurrah as the Chiefs' head coach didn't quite go according to plan. His Chiefs were blown out, 37-10, by the New York Jets at the Meadowlands, and it was their fifth loss in six games. Kansas City committed 11 penalties for 128 yards in the contest, including a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct flag on Haley himself, all but sealing his fate.
The next day, he was fired.
"Timing in these situations is always difficult. There never seems to be a right time," Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said at the time. "We just felt the inconsistent play the team has experienced throughout the season, including yesterday's game, made today the right day to do it."
But I don't think the Chiefs can really blame it all on Haley. Plain and simple, the Chiefs were dealt a terrible hand and just couldn't hold it together.
To say the 2011 NFL campaign was a roller coaster ride for Haley and the Chiefs has got to be one of the biggest understatements of the year.
After three lopsided losses to start the season, Kansas City appeared to right the ship after rattling off four straight wins and briefly pulled into a tie atop the AFC West. However, the ship started sinking quickly again soon after, as those wins were immediately followed by an extremely disappointing blowout loss at Arrowhead to previously winless Miami. The dominoes of doom started tumbling soon after to the tune of a disastrous six weeks in which the losses mounted.
"We've had one of those years where we've had injuries, and injuries to key players, but that's typical in the National Football league," Hunt said then. "As a team, you have to find a way to overcome that, and we just weren't able to do that this year. Our play was up and down the entire season and at times it was up and down during a given game, and I think those contributed to our decision."
As for Pittsburgh, without a bye going into the playoffs, they had to play a road game at Denver with a hobbled Ben Roethlisberger to open the postseason. Roethlisberger threw for 289 yards and a touchdown, but the Steelers fell to Tim Tebow and the Broncos, 29-23, in overtime.
In steps Todd Haley as the Steelers' new offensive coordinator. The Steelers are usually very adamant about keeping the new coaching hires 'in the family', and they continued doing so here. Haley is the son of Dick Haley, formerly the director of player personnel for the Steelers from 1971-1990.
"I am excited about the opportunity to come back home and work for a tremendous organization," Haley said at his introductory press conference on Tuesday. "It is an honor to work with the Rooney family and Coach Tomlin and continue the success that has become synonymous with the Steelers. My father has so many fond memories both from his playing days and his time in the personnel department with the team, and I look forward to helping bring more championships to Pittsburgh and to being a part of one of the storied franchises in the NFL."
So, with Haley now calling the plays, how will the Black and Gold look on offense next season? That's tough to say considering that Haley was extremely pass-heavy with his playcalling in Arizona but became more balanced in KC.
But with the owners, most notably team president Art Rooney II, wanting to see more of the 'old school' style of Steelers football, I think we can expect a much more balanced offense with running backs Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman being names we hear from quite often.
Congrats on the new gig, Todd Haley - and good luck.
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