... Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley made no
bones about what his desires are for the unit he has been charged to
oversee.
“(The) emphasis is on winning,” Haley said Thursday when asked if he
will place a greater emphasis on running the football. “There is a very
high expectation here in the city of Pittsburgh.
“We have one goal and that is very clear. We want to win as many games
as we can, and play in those big games that we just had to sit and
watch, which isn’t a lot of fun.”
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who introduced Haley to the media
Thursday, nodded in agreement.
Tomlin made no mention of team president Art Rooney II – who has been
accused by some of meddling in the coach's business by forcing the
firing of former coordinator Bruce Arians – when introducing Haley. In fact, Tomlin said the decision to hire Haley, son for former
Steelers personnel man Dick Haley, was his.
“When I started this process of exploring for potential coordinators, I
talked to a lot of people and did a lot of research,” Tomlin said. “I
was really impressed by him, not only by his resume and experience but
also his genuine love for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That was a unique
element for me, one that I have been attracted to in the past.
“I will always be interested in guys that know what the standard is for
the Steelers. I can speak to the acquisition of Coach Carnell Lake and
Coach Jerry Olsavsky. Haley is another man that knows what it’s all
about to be a Steeler. He legitimately embraces the standards that are
ours.”
Haley, the former Kansas City Chiefs coach and Arizona Cardinals
offensive coordinator, promises to bring a fresh approach to the table
with the Steelers. And you can bet that the days of the offensive
coordinator playing golf or going on vacation with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger are over.
That, however, does not mean that Haley doesn’t care. He just doesn’t
want to be a buddy or pal; he wants to win.
“One of the first things I will say to these guys is we aren’t going to
be real into a lot of sensitivity,” Haley said. “If you are sensitive,
this is probably not the best place to be. But I have to adhere to it
too. I dish it out, but I have to take it. But this is a passionate,
emotional game and you watch the playoffs, and everybody is a little
different. I watch those Harbaugh guys, they are pretty into the games.
It is about the end result.”
Roethlisberger told another reporter Thursday that he
has fielded calls from a lot of players around the league, some with
good things to say about Haley, some with bad.
Roethlisberger said he’ll take a wait-and-see attitude in regard to his
own thoughts on Haley, but did add that he doesn’t want to see the
team’s young receivers take a step backward while learning a new
system.
In that respect, Haley doesn’t expect major problems since he has
worked with both Ken Whisenhunt and Ron Erhardt, a pair of former
Steelers offensive coordinators.
“From a system standpoint, which is really just terminology to me as
much as anything, which is a very important part of communication,
there is a lot of carryover,” Haley said.
He also promises an offense that will make the most of what the
Steelers have offensively, pointing to his days with Arizona and Kansas
City as an example.
Haley’s 2008 Arizona team featured a prolific passing attack, while his
2010 Kansas City Chiefs club led the NFL in rushing.
“There is a lot of talk of systems in the NFL, offensively and
defensively, and I am just a believer offensively that you do what
gives you the best chance to succeed,” Haley said. “So if your best
chance to succeed is to run the ball 63 times a game, then you run the
ball 63 times a game.
“I am going to do what gives our players the chance to be the best they
can possibly be because generally when that is occurring you are doing
well enough. I am not a statistics guy as far as end of the year stats,
but I want to protect the football and score points.”
(Dale Lolley appears courtesy of the Observer-Reporter.)