In his stints as offensive coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals and head coach with the Kansas City Chiefs, Todd Haley earned a reputation for clashing with his superiors and subordinates. He had a sideline argument with Anquan Boldin in Arizona, and there was reportedly a major rift between Haley and Chiefs' general manager Scott Pioli that contributed to him being fired during the 2011 season.
Haley's abrasive reputation led to questions about how he would get along with Ben Roethlisberger after the Pittsburgh Steelers hired Haley to replace Bruce Arians as offensive coordinator.
Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown had the scouting report on Haley, but says it couldn't have been more wrong.
"Todd's really a cool guy -- shaking guy's hands, communicating with guys, putting in that extra time for guys, visiting with guys. (Bruce) wasn't really that type of guy -- he just went about his business," Brown said, according to Dan Gigler of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"You can't go off of what you hear about a person until you really get to meet him, and, since I met this guy, he's been first class."
It's possible that Brown still might be experiencing some euphoria after signing a five-year contract extension worth nearly $42 million last week. It's also worth noting that Brown hasn't run the wrong route or otherwise done something to draw Haley's wrath in the middle of the game. But it's also possible that Haley could have come to the realization that if he wants to be an NFL head coach again, he has to start playing nice with his players and his boss.
