Steelers keep Bruce Arians
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that he would make “appropriate changes” to the team’s personnel. I guess that mean that changing the offensive coordinator was not an “appropriate change” in Tomlin’s mind, because the Steelers have announced that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians will return for the 2010 season.
I know that many fans are going to be infuriated by this decision. Fans have been calling for Arians to be fired all season. I have also been hard on Arians all season long. But, believe it or not, I think this was the right decision.
Firing someone is a decision that should be made very carefully. It should not be done on a whim. And the person who is being fired must DESERVE to be fired.
As much as I question Bruce Arians’ play calling at times, I can’t honestly say that Arians deserves to be fired.
Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians
Let’s look at this objectively. Bruce Arians was the offensive coordinator when the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII. More importantly, it was Arians who implemented one of the most potent offenses in Steelers history.
The 2009 Steelers had a 1,000 yard rusher, two 1,000 yard receivers, and the team’s first 4,000 yard passer. It would be illogical to say that the Steelers’ offense sucked this year. It was actually pretty prolific. One of the best in team history. So how can you fire an offensive coordinator for having the most prolific offense the team has ever seen?
Be honest. Why do you REALLY want to see Arians fired. It’s not because he caused us to lose. The defense was more responsible for most of the team’s losses than the offense. Let’s face it, there was no lead too large for the defense to give away in the 4th quarter this year. The Steelers defensive backs made average quarterbacks look like Hall-of-Famers. Remember Bruce Gradkowski? Tyler Thigpen? Yet I don’t hear anyone calling for Dick LeBeau to be fired. Why is that? His unit performed much more poorly than Arians’ unit did.
Were there problems with the offense? Certainly. The offense struggled in 3rd down situations. They also struggled in the red zone. The Steelers kicked too many field goals, when they should have scored touchdowns. Finally, the offensive line allowed Big Ben to get sacked too often.
Call me an optimist, but I believe that all of those problems can be fixed without firing the offensive coordinator.
The Steelers had a much bigger problem on special teams, and guess what? They fired special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky. He needed to be fired. He oversaw one of the worst special teams units in team history. I don’t think anyone will question this decision.
Ex-Steelers coach Bob Ligashesky
The Steelers also fired offensive line coach Larry Zierlein. He probably needed to go, too. The Steelers just didn’t seem to know how to block effectively. The offensive line is a HUGE part of why our 3rd down and red zone efficiency is so low. Do you think that Bruce Arians wouldn’t like to be able to give the ball to his running back on 3rd and 1? But the Steelers running attack has proven that it can’t be trusted in those situations.
In Zierlein’s defense, he didn’t have much to work with. We all know that the Steelers’ offensive line has been inadequate for years. Max Starks is too slow to be a left tackle (just ask Clay Matthews Jr.), Trai Essex got his position by default, and Willie Colon is a great run blocker, but he doesn’t seem to be able to pass block without holding. I’ve always felt that the Steelers would be better off if they moved Starks back to right tackle, moved Colon to right guard (where is skills would be best utilized), and finally got a quality left tackle. But instead, they continue to support Starks as a left tackle and Colon as a right tackle.
Even given the personnel problems, there was definitely something wrong with Zierlein’s pass blocking schemes. Their blitz pick-up was terrible. Does anyone else remember the 8 sacks that the team surrendered to the Cleveland Browns? What was up with that? Half of the Browns’ starters didn’t even play that game due to injury. That performance alone was cause for Zierlein to be fired.
I don’t think that anyone in Steeler Nation believes that Big Ben is responsible for all of the sacks that he takes, despite the fact that he holds the ball waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long (Note to Ken Anderson’s replacement: PLEASE force Ben to throw the ball away when he is under pressure).
So despite having sub-par personnel on the offensive line, Zierlein probably needed to go.
So Arians stays, and Ligashesky and Zierlien go. Probably not what most fans wanted to hear, but still the right move.
Coach Tomlin will be called gutless for not firing Arians. But the truth is, it took a lot of guts to keep Arians when the fans were calling for his ouster.
I can support this decision for now. But if the team doesn’t improve it’s 3rd down and red zone efficiency, I expect to see this decision revisited next year. After all, what good is it to gain 1 billion yards, if you can’t put the ball into the endzone?
(If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving a comment below. Also, please subscribe to our blog by pressing the orange button below. You can also follow us on Facebook or Twitter by clicking the doohickies at the bottom of the right column of this page. Thanks.)
after reading your post .i agree with you more now.
1Donald,
can’t believe you defend tomlin to the degree that all of a sudden you think keeping arians is the right move.
Potent? Prolific? How about POINTS for crying out loud! That is the only stat that matters. Nearly half the nfl scored more points than the arians offense did that had 1,000yd WRs, 1,000 yd RB, and 4,000 yd QB.
LeBeau has an increbible track record. He is an innovator. He is a future Hall of Famer. Heck, he single handedly developed the zone blitz that every team in the NFL uses these days. Don’t see anyone asking Arians how to forsake the run and call a game that makes even a novice question him. There is a big reason nobody is asking to speak with arians. So,one bad season LeBeau gets a pass without a thought of firing. Can’t believe this argument even has to be made.
Finally, if all the offensive problems can be fixed without replacing arians then why hasn’t it happened yet? Arians really thinks he calls a good game. That will not change. You’re niave if you think otherwise.
And a bonus thought: You point at OL problems. How about taking care of these issues during the offseason? Tomlin has had 2 offseasons to do so and looked the other way.
Tomlin did, however, make correct decisions on OL coach and ST coach. May want to do same with RB coach and DB coach as well.
2Tony,
I knew that you were going to love this one.
You know that I’ve hammered Arians all year long. I hate his play calling. He’s never met a down that he didn’t feel was a passing down. But nevertheless, his offense didn’t lose games for us. Defense and special teams did that.
Do I like Arians? No. Do I think he deserves to be fired? No. His offense did enough to win games. If the defense had been better, we’d be in the playoffs right now.
3Donald,
I need to takeanother shot at you though. Let me remind you that we only scored 14 vs. Chicago, 12 vs. Cin, 17 vs. Baltimore (1st game), and a pitiful 6 vs. Cleveland. Oh, and if Bironas makes those two very easy FGs we easily lose to Tenn first game of the season.
Now if my math is correct we could have been 13-3 if it wasn’t for that. So, let’s not lay so much at the feet of the defense. But I do agree that the defense cost us some at the end of some games, no doubt. But at least injuries can explain a great part of it. As far as offensive woes, well….It is Arians and his play calling and abandonment of the run and ball control.
Sorry, but I just totally disagree with ya.
4I can’t believe that you don’t think Arians should be fired. I do agree that even though under his watch were able to do some great things statistically but ultimately we couldn’t score and our offense (especially our offense because of our history) should be able to run the ball at will at the end of games which would help an aging defense like ours. Also even with all the great stats we had this year we still had issues with moving the ball when we needed to. Meaning lots of yard in the first half then we’d go dormant in the 3rd quarter and hope to light it back up in the 4th. Overall with Arians the number one thing you can say about him is his inconsistency and that won’t win games. And even though the D was inconsistent this year that has more to do with age (young and old guys) and injuries.
5Bring back Bobby April to coach the special teams. He’s available, he opted out of his contract.
6LeBeau needs to retire,the game has passed him by. The MAIN reason the Steelers did not go to the playoffs is that sorry 4th quarter group they call a defense. The Steelers seconday with Gay,Clark,Townsend and Taylor are a joke for sure. They can’t cover anyone and they can’t catch an INT to save their life. This is the worst group of tacklers in the NFL i have seen in a long time as a whole. Farrior has lost more than a step,Timmons was about average and can not stop the run like Foote did. Harrison was good at times but can’t shed blocks and is out of postion way too many times. Woodley is a beast and is going to be a good one for a long time to come. They have a lot of work to do on this side of the ball for sure. The DB coach (Ray Horton) should also hit the street as well. And the worst thing is that Coach Tomlin was the secondary coach for the Bucs for 5 years,you would think that the DB’s would be a strengh of this team. Well they are the WORST group on the field other than the special teams cover group.
7I am in no way a supporter of any team firing any coach just because the fans are calling for it. We really don’t know all the conflicts or connections that these men make when we aren’t watching them on the field. I have been a Steelers Fan since ’76 and I will certainly leave the office stuff to the people who work it. After all, most of the ’80 were hard to bear but it is pretty clear that we are in focus to win not just be coasting along sub par, sorry Detroit, Cleveland. I know that things are going to work for us not against us. We have the class and the stamina to get back into contention for the Super Bowl…
8I think that we also have to face the fact that even with the best coach, if you don’t have the proper staff backing you with talent, then you just suck. You can’t argue with the numbers, cuz they don’t lie. I would have loved to see more touchdowns, that is what we used to do. PUNCH THE BALL IN!!!!! Get the points! In 2010 we will see if Arians has the what it takes or see if his support had the talent to hold him up.
9Bottom line is that Arians stayed because Ben loves him. You don’t spend $100MM on a QB and ignore what he thinks he wants/needs to be successful. As far as the numbers go, you can conjure up positive and negative numbers with this offense to support keeping or firing Arians. As much as I want to see him go (and I DO!)our defense and ST are significantly more ‘broken’ than our Offense. As I have said before I am anxious to see how Tomlin responds and takes action to improve this team. Up until now, he has done very little IMO. This off season will tells us a lot about our coach.
10I believe Tomlin must have had the come to Jesus talk with Arian’s and executed his line coach to show him he was serious. I agree that the offense was not the reason for a 9-7 record. But, good Lord, some of the play calling just makes you want to start drinking. I mean really. I can not count the number of times I shook my head and said “really”?? What the heck was that? And why now? I think if we can get better line play it will help. Yes, I am an Arian’s basher, but as mentioned above, we do have 100 million dollar QB we have to keep happy, and I am sure that was considered.
11Corey,
Excellent comments. I agree. Firing a coach is usually not the answer. After all, the coaches don’t get on the field and play.
I have been very critical of Bruce Arians’ play calling this year. Yet, I don’t think he deserves to be fired. I think that to properly evaluate him, the team needs to upgrade the offensive line. The O-line has been a problem for years. IMO, the O-line is a big part of why the Steelers are so bad on 3rd downs and in the red zone.
Let’s face it, when the Steelers were faced with 3rd and 3, did you want them to run the ball or pass the ball? I usually wanted them to pass the ball. I just didn’t trust the running game to get the yards. But I trust Big Ben to get it. Bruce Arians probably felt the same way. That’s why I say that he deserves another year.
Now if they address their offensive line through the draft or free agency, and Bruce Arians is still throwing the ball in 3rd and 1 situations, then my opinion of him may change. But right now, I think his offensive line forced him to throw on some downs that he may have wanted to run on.
12John#21,
I agree completely. When your $100 million franchise QB says that he wants the offensive coordinator to stay, then the OC stays. And Ben wanted Arians to stay.
I’ve even read reports that said that Tomlin planned to fire Arians until Ben intervened. That just shows how much power Roethlisberger has.
13Donald,
See, here is the problem. Addressing the OL in the draft and free agency was something to do 2 years ago and for sure last year. It’s too late now. It will take a couple of years to get men well adjusted in the system, especially if they do it through the draft.
Boys, get ready for a few years of rebuilding. And that is a discouraging thing considering your QB is hitting his prime. Could have reloaded in last couple of years to be ready for the upcoming year but didn’t.
14JUST HOW “POTENT’ IS STEELER OFFENSE? LET’S LOOK AT THE NUMBERS: POINTS PER GAME!!!
Over the past six years the Steeler’s offensive production has remained flat, averaging around 23 points per game (ppg.). Though Roethlisberger passed for over 4000 yds. in 2009, the Steelers ppg. average was actually slightly less than it was in 2004, Big Ben’s rookie year!
15Now that he is a much more skillful and masterful quarterback, one would expect the Steeler ppg. average of the offense to rise to the level of the NFL’s elite offenses (Indy, New England, San Diego, New Orleans, etc.) All these teams are producing at least 26 ppg. The league average in 2009 was 21 ppg.
So despite all the hoopla surrounding the Steeler passing, receiving, and rushing stats, their ppg. average is only slightly above the norm. And last time I checked it was the team with the most points (not the best stats) that wins the game. If Ken Wisenhunt can produce a better ppg. average with a novice QB in his first two years as Offensive Coordinator, than Arians has with Ben in season’s five and six, what does that say about the kind of job he is doing?
So there are statistical reasons behind the clamor to fire Arians; he has failed to produce an elite scoring offense while having elite talent at his disposal. And while it is true that the Steeler’s downfall in 2009 was largely the fault of a defense that allowed over 20 ppg., (well above Steeler norms) it is also true that the offense didn’t really pick up the slack.
Give me a break. Ligashesky was not the worst Special Teams coach in Steeleer history, he was the worst in NFL history. Not addressing the annual poor performance of the offensive line and the weak coaching of Larry Zierlein again says that Tomlin still does not understand football at the NFL level. Take a real close look at the draft picks and it will again be obvious how little Tomlin has a grasp on the NFL.
16Welcome back to the bridge, Captain. I agree that the drafting of the recent past has been weak. Even pre-Tomlin there were lots of questionable picks (Spaeth; Bruce Davis)but the last two years (we will give the last 2 #1′s a combined grade of ‘B’) outside of Mike Wallace, our coaches have not found the talent in Rnds 2-7 that other teams have. The Steelers (Tomlin) would be wise to hire some draft advisors in recognition of their recent poor selections. More input and a diverse opinion can only help. Colbert and Tomlin should admit that their batting average has dropped and get some help but I think egos will prevent them from this common approach (hiring consultants for an educated, objective opinion) to business.
17You hit the nail on the head John#21. Find some scouting talent to help these guys evaluate people. Wallace was the best draft pick in the past five years. I would bet the Queen Mary that Tomlin was not responsible for selecting him. We need people in the secondary who have size, speed, smarts and love to hit. We need offensive linemen who are agile, quick and know how to block without holding. If the Steeler organization does not make smart picks in these areas, an 8 – 8 season this year will be a tremendous year.
18Captain Sank,
I agree that the Steelers offensive line needs an upgrade. However, I don’t agree with your assessment of blame for the problem.
The offensive line was a problem before Tomlin got here. How often have we used high draft picks on the O-line over the past decade? Not very often. The Steelers philosphy seems to be that they can find good O-linemen in the later rounds.
Frankly, I can’t say that I disagree with not taking O-line in the recent drafts. Look at where the Steelers have drafted. By the time their pick came around, the premiere O-linemen were already gone. Hindsight is 20/20, but most of the good offensive linemen go early. Do you really want the Steelers to waste a 1st round pick on the 8th best offensive tackle, when they can draft the best safety or the best 2nd best RB?
Take a look at the past 3 drafts and look at how many offensive linemen went before the Steelers got to make their pick. Then tell me what you would have done differently.
19Admin, I understand where you are coming from, however I cannot find another NFL team with a worse offensive line. When we won the Super Bowl last year, we had to have established a first in winning the big game having the worst O-Line in the history of Super Bowl winners. Our running game was horrible in 2008 and got even worse in 2009.
20Now the beginning of the monumental fold was our refusal to re-sign Alan Faneca. That mistake was the beginning of the end. Our entire current O-Line’s talents would not amount to a pimple on Faneca’s backside. That is inexcuseable and if I were Roethlisberger, I would make someone in the organization accountable.
Arians is poor in short yardage and redzone situations. I wouldn’t mind seeing him gone. That being said, the injured D and poor special teams was our undoing this year. I’d like to see Tomlin force the run more on Arians next season, pick up a CB in the draft (W. Gay has to go.), and get Hood involved more. I think we will be back next year.
21