Haley's portfolio loaded with candor, feistiness
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Todd Haley is the fourth Steelers OC hired outside the organization since 1969.
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If the Steelers wanted an offensive coordinator who will be tough on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, they found the right person in Todd Haley.
As an offensive coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals, Haley often got into arguments and in-your-face debates with some of his top players, including star quarterback Kurt Warner.
As coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, he even argued and feuded with the team's general manager, Scott Pioli, because of his passionate style.
Haley, 44, will bring some of that and more to the Steelers, who have hired him as their new offensive coordinator -- the first time in the past 13 years they have gone outside their organization to hire a coach to run their offense.
His fiery, tempestuous style will be in direct contrast to the person he replaces, Bruce Arians, who had a chummy relationship with Roethlisberger in his five years as the team's offensive coordinator. Curiously, that relationship might ultimately have led to his departure.
"It doesn't matter where you stand on the totem pole," Warner said in a phone interview Tuesday, hours after Haley's hiring was announced by the Steelers.
"If he sees something you can do better, he lets you know about it. That was a reason for our success."
Haley, who grew up in Upper St. Clair, is the most significant coaching hire coach Mike Tomlin has had to make since he inherited Arians and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau from Bill Cowher's staff in 2007.
Despite not getting a lot of attention from other NFL teams after he was fired, Haley was very impressive when he interviewed last week with Tomlin, general manager Kevin Colbert and team president Art Rooney II.
The Steelers even announced the meeting on their website -- something they rarely do with coaching interviews.
The Steelers did not seek Roethlisberger's input on the hiring of Haley.
"I enjoyed playing for him," said Warner, a two-time league MVP and Super Bowl MVP with the St. Louis Rams before he joined the Cardinals. "I'm a guy who loves to be challenged in a lot of different ways, and that's what Todd is about. He pushed me and wanted me to be great. He pushed the guys around me to be great."
First Published February 8, 2012 12:00 am
