Steeler's offensive coordinator retires.

**Captain Silver** · 01-20-2012, 01:33 PM

Story

No more whining next year...

**footballfan** · 01-20-2012, 02:14 PM

Some stories in the local news saying he was forced out.

Seems like everyone is saying the Steelers need to spend more time and money on constructing a better offensive line. The team has invested $102 million in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Doesn't it need to do a better job keeping him healthy?

Well, here are two more questions:

Isn't it important to keep Roethlisberger happy?

If so, why are the Steelers on the verge of forcing offensive coordinator Bruce Arians to retire?

It makes no sense.

The decision to push out Arians apparently has been made by team president Art Rooney II. The most recent time I talked to Arians about his future, he made it clear he wants to come back. "These young guys have made it so much fun for me," he said of the team's young wide receivers. It's believed coach Mike Tomlin wants Arians back. At his season-ending news conference after a wild-card playoff loss to the Denver Broncos, he said he anticipated his coaching staff remaining intact.

But Tuesday, Rooney told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette that a few Steelers coaches are considering retirement. Surely, any official announcement about Arians -- perhaps this week or next -- will make it sound as if the retirement decision is his alone. Don't be fooled. That doesn't mean it isn't Rooney who has decided it's time for Arians to go.

It hardly matters that I think it's a big mistake. What does Tomlin think? He's a Super Bowl-winning coach and he's being told he has to fire a coordinator who he wants? No one is arguing that Rooney isn't the boss. Make no mistake, he is. But is this a good thing to do your coach? To emasculate him even a little bit? It's not as if the Steelers have been dreadful for a long time, as they were when Rooney's father, Dan, forced Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll to make staff changes. They went 12-4 this season before losing to the Broncos.

Firing Arians now is just as wrong as it would have been after the 2009 season when there was media speculation he was out. The Steelers went 9-7 and missed the playoffs that year, although the offense wasn't nearly as much to blame as the defense, which blew five fourth-quarter leads, and the special teams, which allowed four kickoff returns for touchdowns. Roethlisberger went to management and Tomlin and argued to keep Arians. It's hard to say what impact he had, but Arians stayed. Good thing because the team made it to the Super Bowl in '10. In '08, it won Super Bowl XLIII with Arians calling the plays, including those on the late, 78-yard winning drive.

It's nice to think Rooney will realize he's making a mistake and change his mind before the official Arians retirement announcement is made.

There's no doubt Roethlisberger will fight for Arians again, if he hasn't done so already. Last year, he said of Arians: "He gets way, way too much blame and criticism. It's kind of unfortunate because he's so good. If you ask the players, we know." Only days before a playoff loss Jan. 8 in Denver, he said of Arians and the offense: "We've got something special here. We've got a lot of great young players. As long as they don't get crazy and change the offense -- that can really set you back -- the sky is the limit for this team."

It's no secret Roethlisberger and Arians are close. "I can talk to him about anything," Roethlisberger has said. That has led some to suggest Roethlisberger needs more of a coach than a friend. I disagree. Tomlin is his coach. Roethlisberger needs that relationship with Arians -- or one similar to it -- to be the best he can be. Arians has helped him to become one of the NFL's top quarterbacks and has him on a path headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sure, maybe the next coordinator will be better for Roethlisberger and the offense. But maybe not, too.

"He's been able to break down the playbook to exactly what Ben likes," Steelers backup quarterback Charlie Batch said of Arians. "This offense is Ben's offense ...

"People always are going to have flak because of the way the offense performs, but Ben is the first one to step up and say, 'This offense goes how I go. If I play well, we win. If I don't, we lose.' "

Roethlisberger always takes the blame after bad games. He has said Arians puts him and the offense in the best position to be successful.

"If I tell him I hate a play, he won't call it," Roethlisberger said. "He doesn't have an ego that way. He doesn't ever say, 'We're going to do it my way.' It's the same way with the receivers ... he has enough faith in his players to do that. He's a players' guy."

Batch said Arians brings something to Roethlisberger and the Steelers that Rooney should understand and appreciate as the boss of a franchise that has had three head coaches in the past 43 years.

"He brings consistency," Batch said. "You don't want to change that right now when Ben is actually entering into the prime of his career. I don't see why you would want to change."

**The Excellector** · 01-20-2012, 03:45 PM

Steelers fans have wanted Arians out for some time. If they are going to invest more money in the offensive line, which will be difficult to do in a short period of time without diminishing the quality in other areas of the team, that might include a new strategy of running the ball more, to keep Ben from dropping back so much. Under those circumstances, I can see why Arians might not have been the proper guy, going forward.

**sailorsam** · 01-20-2012, 04:08 PM

wonder if LeBeau, who is in late 70s, is going? I figured him to be the first to 'retire'.

**GOTA** · 01-20-2012, 04:15 PM

Arians was absolutely forced out.

LeBeau's contract is up as soon as the 2011 season ends but it's already been announced that he's coming back. With LeBeau it's a year to year thing at this point.

**The Excellector** · 01-20-2012, 04:20 PM

The Steelers arrogantly thought that they could get away from their more physically imposing character, on offense, while having Ben Roethlisberger throw forty times behind that offensive line over a number of years. I must admit that they did get one SB out of that philosophy, but this was bound to happen. Now, their money is tied up in the defense and Roethlisberger himself.

**Steelgal** · 01-20-2012, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by GOTA

Arians was absolutely forced out.

LeBeau's contract is up as soon as the 2011 season ends but it's already been announced that he's coming back. With LeBeau it's a year to year thing at this point.

That's what I've read as well on a paid site I belong too. What's unclear is if it was Tomlin's decision or Art's. There were rumors that BA would be gone a few years ago, but Ben pleaded for him to say and Tomlin gave in. Last year, if it not been for the lockout and uncertainty with it, he might have been 'asked' to retire then.

**SteelFaninBMore** · 01-20-2012, 05:36 PM

Sad part is, I've read that Kirby Wilson was rumored to be the guy to take over for Arians when he left. Don't think that happens now, with the extensive recovery he's still going through.

I'm not as big of an Arians basher as most, but it was time for a change.

**52decleetzu** · 01-20-2012, 06:57 PM

From what I can gather, Jen wanted Arians to stay because he felt when he was guy who HE could tell him how HE wanted the offense to run, and Arians would cave. Let's face it the drama queen wants to chuck it on every play, to get more stats, to get more attention, and to get more analysts riding his dick about how he always "makes plays out of nothing". He can't build his carefully generated image by handing it off a lot, that takes the focus right off him.

The ego maniac that he is was trying desperately to keep the yes man in charge, instead of another OC who had a pair and would stand up to him. It looks like the Steelers told him in so many ways with the "retirement" that they run the show and he doesn't. I mean Jen basically said it would be a disaster if anyone else was OC and it would be a terrible move, and they come right back and force him out anyway. If that isn't an ego check middle finger to the QB I don't know what is.

**The Excellector** · 01-20-2012, 07:19 PM

Cam Cameron and Bruce Arians were in similar situations, essentially. Neither has been a huge proponent of running the ball with their teams. The lockout seemed to have saved both.

It's somewhat funny that, in a league where there seems to be emphasis on passing, the Steelers are going to return to a more balanced offense, even more reliant on the run than the pass.

Let's be real here, having a quarterback consistently drop back and throw forty times in this division is like taking a sleeping pill and inviting Freddy Kreuger to slash you to death.

**Ravenswintitle** · 01-20-2012, 07:41 PM

Depending on the replacement, I would think most Pitt fans are pretty happy with this news.

**SteelFaninBMore** · 01-20-2012, 09:23 PM

Originally Posted by Ravenswintitle

Depending on the replacement, I would think most Pitt fans are pretty happy with this news.

Caldwell is my guess. He and Tomlin have a history, and it seems awfully coincidental that this Arians story came up a day or so after Jim was fired.

Haley interests me too. I think he's a total asshole, but if they want someone who will contrast Arians and stand up to Ben, there's no better guy for the job.