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Bruce Arians was “Retired” Because Rooney is Stuck in the Past

January 23rd, 2012 11:57am | | Category: Steelers

Bruce Arians was forced to retire last week as his contract was not going to be renewed by the Steelers.  The decision came from above.  Art Rooney II did not want Arians on the staff and told Arians he would not be resigned with the team.  After yesterday’s report from ESPN it looks like Arians was “retired” for the wrong reasons.

Rooney wants the team to go back to the way things were.  He wants to be a dominantly running team.  He has been calling for it for the past couple of years.  He wants 3 yards and cloud of dust.  Lets hold the ball and play defense type ot team.  This is shocking.

The NFL does not work this way anymore.  Even if you play defense the game is about throwing the ball.  Going backwards in time is not the right idea.  This is not 1990.  Teams do not play that game anymore.  The teams in the Super Bowl are the teams that pass.  We were one of those teams who threw the ball to get there.  The Ravens never make it because they can not score enough even if they play defense.  The 49ers had the same issue.  They play defense but do not score.  Running teams win regular season games not championships.

The fact that Rooney is stuck there is a scary thought.  If he pushes for this and hires a coordinator who wants to do this it could set the team back years.  The Steelers are not built to do this.  This team is built around Ben Roethlisberger.  We have small, quick receivers who catch the ball and run.  Our tight end while a good blocker is a pass catching tight end.  On top of that the guys one the offensive line are not run blocking guys.  Everyone across our offensive line is built to pass block, other then Kemo who is about to be cut.

Rooney would have to blow up this team to go back in time and become a running team.  He would have to spend all his high picks on the offensive linemen who fit that scheme.  He can not do that.  Our youth is on offense.  Many of these guys are signed through the next 3+ seasons.

The Steelers also can not waste picks to do this.  Our defense is aging and many of these guys could be cut as we are way over the salary cap.  That means many of the picks this offseason will go towards the defense.  The only position on offense that may be looked at deeply is offensive line.  Not enough though to do what Rooney wants to do.

This is a bad thing.  Arians was a bad situational play caller but he had a good scheme and it fit this team.  To force him out because you want to run the ball more and go backwards in time was not the right decision.  To bring in someone who who can make the offense more explose is a reason to remove Arians.  This is not.  I did not really want Arians here but I do not want the explosive offense to go away.  No one should.  We need it to get to where we want to be.

Art Rooney II seems to have become of a more out in the open owner since Dan Rooney went to be the Ambassador to Ireland.  He seems to be to involved in the decision making of the day-to-day more then he should be.  He is in the media and pushing things away from the way we have been doing them since Tomlin arrived.  All those decisions that we thought were Tomlin we may have to take back and put on Rooney.  He has the final decision as the owner and it seems to be his way even if you do not like it right now.

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  • PA2AK

    We need someone that can utilize our weapons while realizing the offense’s weaknesses – especially in key situations…anyone that can improve the redzone & 3rd down performance is a plus. A solid OC candidate, regardless if he likes to run the ball, will be near forced to throw the ball with our weapons. If you don’t take advantage of what the Steelers offense has…you don’t deserve the job (see Bruce Arians).

  • Anonymous

    This article is extremely biased. Just because Arians was not asked back does not mean that Rooney is stuck in the past. Arians was a terrible situational play caller and absolutely refused to do anything to increase Roethlisbergers protection. I believe that his phase out of the fullback position, non-use of the tight end position and refusal to let the team run in order to keep the offense balanced were all indications of an OC who was too enamored with flash. Arians time and time again (along with Ben) wanted to go vertical when the opposing defense was shutting down the deep ball. Rather than adjusting and hitting the inside seams, Ben would hold the ball and take a sack/hit. I agree with PA2AK, take advantage of what the Steeler offense has…balance.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/XGXVAGWHR24VX3OLLYTRVEWYSA butch

    The other comments were well written and I totally agree. Ward said that out of his 1000 catches over half were in the redzone. Something Bruce doesn’t know much about. We lost the last Superbowl because Ward was on the bench and Miller was not involved in the goal line plays. That applies to every Sunday. Ben wants to make the highlight reel instead of hitting the underneath stuff and moving the chains. Getting the ball into the endzone is a no brainer. Field goals seems to be the only scoring we can do when we get close to the goal line. Rooney did the right thing. I just wish he would have done it last year. Ben needs to get his head out of the clouds. Let’s win games. Forget the pretty stats and seeing himself on the NFL channel “throwing the bomb”. Brown is a fast Ward and can be used all over the field. Has great hands. Wallace is still a one trick pony. Sanders needs a lot more coaching. Better yet, just put Ward in and get it done…………Butch