Randy

Fichtner

Pittsburgh will allow Fichtner’s contract to expire ahead of the new league year and won’t bring him back. This was an expected move after the Steelers’ only success on offense in the last two months was the one half Ben Roethlisberger called his own plays following the intermission in Week 16 against the Colts. With JuJu Smith-Schuster’s and James Conner’s contracts also running their course (and Roethlisberger having only one year left on his deal), it’s possible the team’s offense looks entirely different in Week 1 of the 2021 season. Fichtner should still have no issues finding another job as a QBs or assistant coach on the market.

Fichtner, 54, has been coaching with the Steelers since 2007 and has been the team’s QBs coach the last eight years. He’s said to be “very close” with Ben Roethlisberger, which is obviously a huge deal after Big Ben and ousted OC Todd Haley butted heads. The defense is Pittsburgh’s bigger concern.

This was the expected move after the Steelers let Todd Haley’s contract expire. Haley and Ben Roethlisberger seemed to detest each other, while Ben apparently has a strong relationship with Fichtner. A Steelers assistant since 2007, Fichtner had served as QBs coach since 2010. He knows the offense inside and out. Neither personnel nor scoring points were a problem in 2017. Although Haley remains somewhat underrated as an offensive mind, Roethlisberger and company shouldn’t miss a beat under Fichtner.

According to Dulac, Fichtner’s promotion is “pending final approval of his contract.” This comes hours after it was announced the Steelers would not be retaining Todd Haley, who was at the end of his contract. Fichtner is known to have a strong relationship with Ben Roethlisberger and even served as a buffer between Ben and Haley when the two weren’t getting along this past season. The Steelers also considered Mike Munchak for their OC position, but instead he’ll remain in his current role as the team’s OL coach. Fichtner has served on Mike Tomlin’s staff since 2007.