:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58404331/907435080.jpg.0.jpg)
There’s a chance former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley won’t be moving far in 2018. After spending more than half a decade in Pittsburgh working with Ben Roethlisberger and company, it’s now being reported by Cleveland.com that the Cleveland Browns are in talks with Haley about a position in 2018-2019.
It’s assumed Haley would be hired for the offensive coordinator position, and ESPN said the two parties were in “serious talks” about next season.
Cleveland.com also reported—in addition to Haley—Jackson also interviewed fired Giants coach Ben McAdoo, a Homer City native, and Texans’ quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan.
So, it seems the Steelers might not have seen the last of Haley after all. If things continue on this trend, the Pittsburgh defense will get to face Haley’s offense twice per season.
Time to check in on the Steelers news not covered within the friendly confines of BTSC:
Le’Veon Bell gives the Steelers carries.
Bell gives the Steelers catches.
Bell gives the Steelers first downs.
Bell gives the Steelers touchdowns.
But Bell will never give the Steelers his full commitment. Not as long as the Steelers don’t acquiesce to his onerous contract demands.
So, after a season where lack of full commitment fouled the Steelers locker room and added up to going 0-1 in the only meaningful portion of the schedule, it’s time for the Steelers and Bell to part ways.
Bell is the NFL’s best running back. But he’s replaceable.
Maybe it was a mirage, this notion the Steelers were Super Bowl-bound based on a 13-3 season that appears less impressive after they failed to win a postseason game.
Maybe the Steelers’ 45-42 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in an AFC divisional playoff at Heinz Field wasn’t so much an upset but a day of reckoning for a team consumed with the New England Patriots.
Maybe that 13-3 record requires further examination, following an abrupt ending.
Maybe the Steelers were a talented team that underachieved, given their eight Pro Bowl picks and four All-Pro players.
Maybe they were an average team that overachieved, given that they could have finished 5-11 if not for winning eight games by single-digit margins, including four on last-minute field goals.
Jerald Hawkins isn’t used to sitting. So when the Steelers’ young offensive tackle was asked what he took from the 2017 season, his initial answer was telling.
”I learned a lot of patience this year, honestly,” the affable 305-pounder said in front of his locker earlier this week.
A three-year starter in high school who started each of the 36 games he played in college for LSU, Hawkins has always been one of the best on his team. He was a four-star recruit good enough to leave college early. Sitting out his rookie 2016 NFL season (on injured reserve) because of a shoulder injury was tough enough. Being limited to five games and 47 snaps during his second NFL season was frustrating, too.