A few days ago, it was announced that Steelers' offensive coordinator Bruce Arians would be "retiring." Rumor has it that Arians didn't have much of a choice. No matter how the retirement came about, this will be the first major coaching change that head coach Mike Tomlin has had to deal with since he became the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He retained Dick Lebeau as defensive coordinator when he took over the job, and Lebeau has not decided to hang them up yet. He promoted Bruce Arians from wide receiver coach to offensive coordinator, and now he is without an offensive coordinator for the first time as a head coach.
Bruce Arians was a lightning rod when it came to discussion between Steelers fanatics. There was a faction that absolutely hated him, a faction that loved him, and then there were those in between.
The ones that absolutely hated him felt that the offense was too predictable, wished he would use a true fullback and run the ball more, and felt that the plays he called never worked and the only plays that ever worked were the ones that Ben Roethlisberger called.
The Arians lovers felt that the offense was moving in the right direction with the league becoming more and more pass happy with each season. They felt Arians was utilizing our best player, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. And they felt that when a play didn't work it was the sole fault of the players not executing the play that was called.
I am more of an in between guy. Did I feel that Arians' offense was at times too predictable? Yes, there were times where I knew what the play was going to be before the huddle was broken. However, with the way the NFL is going under the direction of Roger Goodell (and this is a whole other blog article in itself), that focusing more on the passing game is a good idea. However, I did wish that he would have utilized a true fullback, especially in short yardage and goal line situations. Yes, there were bad play calls, but hindsight is 20/20. If the play works and gets good yardage, it was a great call....but if it ends up in a loss of yards or worse a turnover, the fans say it was a horrible play call. And that goes for any play caller, not just Bruce Arians.
Steelers President Art Rooney II has reportedly said that he wants the old offense. He wants to go back to the blue collar identity that the Steelers have had in the past. This isn't the first time Art Rooney II has given an edict to his coaches since taking over as the shot caller in the Steelers ownership structure. Just the other year, he demanded that the offense put more of a focus on running the football.
The Rooney ownership has largely stood back and let the people they hire to run the football side of things do their job. That's the way they have operated throughout most of the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have had only three head coaches since 1969 (Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin). However, they have intervened at times when they have seen it necessary, it is their money that is being spent.
However, with Art II now having the final decision over everything, it looks like his input will be offered more often than that of his father Dan Rooney..and his grandfather, Steelers founder Art Rooney. I am fully expecting Art II to be involved in the search for a new offensive coordinator since he wants to go back to the blue collar identity that has been the Steelers in the past.
My main concern is, by old offense, does he mean the "Cowherball" days where the Steelers offense looked like this: run-run-pass-punt more often than not. Do I want more balance between the run and the pass? Yeah, I would prefer more of a 45% run to 55% pass, or something close to that. Running the ball keeps the defense honest, it doesn't allow them to totally sell out to protect against the pass...and throwing the ball slightly more doesn't allow the defense to totally sell out against stopping the run.
I am expecting whoever gets hired for the job to employ a true fullback into the offense, especially with Rashard Mendenhall being injured. Our starting running back will likely be Issac Redman, and he's a power runner. I think with Redman as our starter, using a true fullback would help tremendously since I don't see us running many edge plays. Just give him the ball up the gut, let a fullback make a hole, and then Redman can blow it open even more.
One thing I really liked about Bruce Arians is that he consulted with Ben Roethlisberger about the offense. They sat down and went through the playbook...they got rid of plays that Ben felt didn't work or he didn't like. And that was the right move. Roethlisberger is the franchise quarterback of the Steelers. He is the recipient of the largest contract handed out to a player in team history. He has won two Super Bowls and been to a third.
I just hope that the new offensive coordinator brings back some of that blue collar toughness that comes to mind when you think of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But with the league becoming more and more pass happy, I really hope that the new coordinator doesn't try to be too much of a "three yards and a cloud of dust" play caller. Just strike the appropriate balance of run/pass on offense. The Steelers have the type of players to finish in the top ten in most offensive categories every year. I am expecting whoever is hired to replace Arians to make this offense the best it can possibly be.
And yes, I am going to be sending my resume to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Why not?
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