Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame wide receiver Lynn Swann was making the rounds today on radio row at the Super Bowl promoting the free Burger King giveaway of onion rings this upcoming weekend. Swann sat down for a quick interview with Dave Dameshek and Adam Rank from NFL.com and Dameshek asked Swann his thoughts on the comments made last week by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at the Pro Bowl where he said once he returns from Hawaii he will seek out team president Art Rooney II to find out what direction the Steelers offense will move in now that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is gone. Swann did not mince his words when replying to the question and basically said that Roethlisberger is a paid employee and should call head coach Mike Tomlin to find out what is going on. You can watch the interview here or read the transcript below.
Dameshek: Lynn, I am interested if you have any thoughts on… the Rooney\’s of course are royalty on the banks of the Three Rivers. What do you make of Ben Roethlisberger questioning the decision to part ways with Bruce Arians last week? It was retirement supposedly. Of course he\’s already hooked on with the colts, so he was kicked out the door it would seem. What do you make of Roethlisberger essentially challenging the Rooney\’s and, “I\’m going to walk in there and see what the story is going forward.”?
Swann: Was Ben hit by something recently?
Dameshek: I think his face hit a windshield at one point.
Swann: The last time I checked, he was a paid employee of the team. (shrugs)
Dameshek: Say no more. Big Ben is great, but no one is bigger than the Rooney\’s. That\’s for sure.
Swann: I don\’t thing you question an organization that\’s had the consistency and success the Pittsburgh Steelers have had. You may not like it, because you have a relationship with the guy. You may be curious and are wondering what they are thinking and what the philosophy will be with the next guy coming in. Go talk to your head coach. You know, pick up the phone, quietly, call the coach and say, “Coach, your the head coach, are we changing offensive philosophy?” Mike Tomlin will tell you straight out whether he is or not. Because the offensive coordinator will be working for Mike Tomlin. And so, again, the Steelers as an organization have been without question, one of the best run organizations in professional football. So I\’m not going to question it. I\’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt. I may wonder why they did it, but it doesn\’t mean that it is going to have a negative impact on the team. And if I were a player in that locker-room, Id just be going to work the next day, trying to make sure I play the best I could.
