Steelers

Offense

The former Big East bruiser’s pro basketball career went nowhere. Now he’s trying to go the Antonio Gates route.

“It’s definitely possible,” Rooney said. “I think we’ve had coaches in their 60s.”

While his experience isn’t ideal, the Doggfather does coach his son Spanky’s 10-year old team in SoCal. At least Snoop could guarantee Pittsburgh would be suitably ‘up’ before every game.

After sustaining burns on 45 percent of his body, Wilson recently turned a corner in his recovery and is now ahead of schedule. The respected position coach lost out on a chance to take over as offensive coordinator due to the initial uncertainty with his 2012 availability.

“I thought that it was time for change,” Tomlin said Tuesday. It’s been widely reported that Tomlin was “overruled” by team president Art Rooney II with regards to Arians and the hiring of Todd Haley. Regardless of whose decision it was, the Steelers’ offense is unlikely to look drastically different under Haley, who is hardly pass-phobic and could be without lead back Rashard Mendenhall for the majority of 2012.

As far as we know, the move is unprecedented for a coach of Tomlin’s success level. It’s an accepted practice for NFL head coaches to maintain control over their own staff. In one sense, though, it’s far from shocking. Ben Roethlisberger reportedly stepped in to save Arians’ job two years back. Rooney has been stumping for a return to the Steelers’ ground-game roots and more pocket discipline from Big Ben.

Haley interviewed for the job on Tuesday, though there’s speculation it may have been merely a favor to help get his name back in circulation for other jobs. His “in-your-face” style is considered a poor fit for Ben Roethlisberger’s personality. While the Steelers reportedly have a keen interest in Packers QBs coach Tom Clements, he’s believed to be in line for a promotion in Green Bay.

“Gathering info” might not work in the combative Haley’s best interest, but he would be a good hire for a team looking to install a more balanced attack. Haley fielded some of the league’s best rushing attacks during his three years in Kansas City, and has also proven capable of getting the most out of his receivers. It’s doubtful there are many better candidates to replace Bruce Arians.

Since Haley isn’t going to get a head coaching job, Pittsburgh’s coordinator position is a perfect fit. His father, Dick, played for the Steelers in the 1960s before joining Art Rooney Jr. and Bill Nunn in the personnel department that oversaw four Super Bowl championship teams in the 1970s. It’s a “dream” job for Haley.

Wilson has smoke inhalation problems, burns to 45% of his body, and remains hospitalized in critical condition. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests QBs coach Randy Fichtner as an in-house alternative. Beat writer Ed Bouchette still doesn’t know whether Arians is leaving on his own or if he was fired.