A lot has been made in recent weeks about the supposed feud between Ben Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley, but the quarterback indicated on Tuesday that the reports about the rift have been overblown.
In his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan, Roethlisberger gave a strong indication that he does not want the Steelers to part ways with Haley this offseason.
Ben Roethlisberger given perfect opportunity to say he's done w/ Todd Haley as OC. Instead, he says: "The least amount of change the better. We don’t want to have big changes b/c we’re right there, we’re on the cusp… We feel we have some great things going for us." #Steelers
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 16, 2018
Ben Roethlisberger says he and Todd Haley sat together yesterday in OC's office and laughed. Says, "There’s always issues in a competitive field" and "you might butt heads at times, it doesn’t mean you have any personal problems."
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 16, 2018
Of his repeatedly reported conflict-filled relationship w/ OC Todd Haley, Ben Roethlisberger says, "I think its perceived as a bigger deal than it was."
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 16, 2018
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported a few weeks back that Roethlisberger had recruited other members of the Steelers’ coaching staff to serve as a “buffer” between him and Haley during games. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed that on Sunday, noting that quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner left his usual position in the booth toward the end of the year to work from the the sideline and keep the peace between Roethlisberger and Haley.
Despite all that talk, one Steelers player claimed this week that Haley has a “great” relationship with all of the members of the team. That’s a much different take that the ones we have heard about Roethlisberger potentially contemplating retirement because of Haley.
While they have not always gotten along and Roethlisberger publicly ripped Haley in the OC’s first year on the job, the results on the field have been good. Roethlisberger will turn 36 this offseason, so you can understand why he might prefer to mend his relationship with Haley rather than start fresh with a new coach.
