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Haley lighting up Roethlisberger’s eyes
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Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley, left, talks with defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau during practice at the Steelers’ training camp in Latrobe, Pa.
Associated Press
LATROBE, Pa.
Time will tell how the relationship between Todd Haley and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will evolve.
But for now, the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator is making his quarterback’s eyes light up.
Entering his ninth season, Roethlisberger has long publicly campaigned to run more no-huddle offense in which he carries more play-calling responsibilities.
Haley, in his first season with the team, said on Tuesday the no-huddle “will be ... a big part of our offense.”
“[Roethlisberger] has shown a propensity to do that at a high level,” Haley said. “Ideally, if you have a quarterback like Ben and what he’s done, when he’s in full control, that’s a good situation to be in because he’s right in the middle of it and seeing what’s going on.”
The Steelers (No. 7 in the AP Pro32) spent a significant portion of their afternoon practice on Tuesday placing special emphasis on running the no-huddle.
As the players continue to assimilate themselves into Haley’s system, Roethlisberger would seem to need to master an advanced understanding of the offense before he could be entrusted to run the no-huddle.
“It requires some attention, of course — it’s new,” head coach Mike Tomlin said. “But I like where the group is. It’s obvious that we made good use of our offseason time. When I talk about that, I’m talking about [Organized Team Activities] and minicamp, but it’s a process.”
Roethlisberger was particularly close with former coordinator Bruce Arians, but Arians was forced out at the end of last season and now holds the coordinator’s job with the Colts.
But even Arians — despite repeated teases — resisted handing over the play-calling reins to Roethlisberger on a regular basis. Other than the obvious late-in-a-half situations, the Steelers rarely ran a random series in the no-huddle over the past few seasons even though it was practiced often.
“Ben, I can tell through the spring, he’s got his arms around it, he likes it,” Haley said. “You can see his eyes light up a little bit when we get into that mode, and I think that’s the sign of a great quarterback.