Asked this month about the state of his Pittsburgh Steelers offense, coordinator Todd Haley said: "I'm not happy with anything right now."
His employer can relate.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported on NFL Network's "NFL GameDay Morning" that frustration is building in Pittsburgh over the conservative nature of Haley's offense. He faces a crucial game Sunday in London against the Minnesota Vikings, according to sources involved in the situation. Win or lose, the Steelers plan to reassess where they are on offense during their upcoming bye week.
The belief is a change at coordinator is unlikely, Rapoport was told, but nobody knows definitively because the decision would come from ownership, not coach Mike Tomlin.
Haley has been an ill fit in Pittsburgh from the start, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger "is actually buying in; he is grinning and bearing it," Rapoport was told. "And things still have not improved. I think, if you pulled him aside privately, what he would want is a little more no-huddle, a chance where he gets to call the plays."
When NFL Media columnist Mike Silver talked with Haley before the Steelers departed for London, the coordinator was "very optimistic."
"(Haley) said Ben came into his office Monday after their previous defeat all down, blaming himself," Silver reported Sunday. "(Haley told him) you're not the reason we're going to lose games. You're the reason we're going to win a lot of games together."
That hasn't been the case during Haley's run in Pittsburgh. Lay another egg, and we might be in for a busy bye week in the Steel City.
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