The soap opera continues in Pittsburgh, where a playoff loss to Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos has led the Steelers to make changes.
The Ravens? biggest rivals in the AFC North are generating a steady stream of speculation with their inner-office machinations.
The latest headline came Thursday when team president Art Rooney II explained that he didn?t hire the team?s new offensive coordinator, Todd Haley, as many fans of the team seem to believe.
Head coach Mike Tomlin hired Haley, according to Rooney, selecting him over candidates that included Jim Caldwell, the Ravens? new quarterbacks coach.
?I wouldn?t want my role in it to be overestimated because Mike has to decide who he wants on the staff,? Rooney told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Fans believe Rooney was involved in the decision because he reportedly orchestrated the departure of the team?s previous offensive coordinator, Bruce Arians, who had turned the Steelers offense into more of a pass-first unit in recent years, making quarterback Ben Roethlisberger happy.
Rooney reportedly wants the Steelers to get back to the smash-mouth, run-oriented football for which they?re known.
But as he told the Post-Gazette, he didn?t pick the coach.
?Mike identified a number of candidates that he wanted to talk to and did all of the initial discussions," Rooney said. "We talked about who he was talking to ? then he decided who he wanted to bring in for a follow-up interview into Pittsburgh. I did talk to the guys who came into Pittsburgh.
?Even though there's always a discussion between me and Mike about who he's hiring and how much we're paying him and those kinds of things, it's normally a discussion of the business side of the arrangement than, 'Are we going to hire a guy who's going to run the ball so many times a game?'?
While speculation about a power struggle between the football office and upper management persists, the radio talk show boards in Pittsburgh are ablaze with questions about whether Roethlisberger ? who supported Arians ? has met with Haley.
Rooney downplayed the whole issue.
"I had a good conversation with Ben the other day and he's anxious to get started and to get to know (Haley). It's February,? Rooney said.
The team president laughed when asked if Haley and Roethlisberger had met.
"We're getting to the point where every time somebody meets with somebody around here we've got to have a press conference,? Rooney said with his tongue planted in his cheek.
It?s not a dull offseason in the Steel City.
Source: http://www.csnbaltimore.com/blog/ravens-talk/post/Steelers-need-group-hug?blockID=653078&feedID=6876
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