Todd Haley knows a thing or two about loud environments. He’s apart of Steelers’ nation now and served as the head coach at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
But to him, it’s hard to compare any place to the noise Seattle creates.
In this week’s Coordinator’s Corner, Bob Labriola asked the Steelers’ offensive coordinator to compare coaching in Kansas City to Seattle.
“No disrespect to Arrowhead, I think [Seattle] is consistently louder. Like I understand, [their fans] understand situations and understand when their opponent is on offense, they gotta do their thing. And I think they take a lot of pride in it.
Like I said, they can’t be a factor for us. We have to handle our end of it and play sound football.”
Seattle’s CenturyLink Field has a reputation of being one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL. At various points over the last couple years, they have held the record for loudest moment in a stadium. Most recently, that came in 2013, when they set the record with 137.6 decibels in a Monday night game against the New Orleans Saints. Chiefs’ fans, however, did take the record back a short time later.
Haley is well aware of what it’s like to play in Seattle, something most of his team isn’t. Only five Steelers have ever played in Seattle. That doesn’t include guys like Ben Roethlisberger, Heath Miller, and Lawrence Timmons, who all came into the league before 2003, the last time Pittsburgh traveled to Seattle. Haley’s time in Arizona meant an annual trip to CenturyLink. In his three years as the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator, Haley and company actually fared well, going 2-1. He may be the most experienced person when it comes to playing in that environment which is a little scary to think about.
Of course, a hot start from the Pittsburgh Steelers would do well to help settle Seattle’s 12th man. If their crowd becomes a factor, with the Seahawks’ strong pass rush, it could cause problems for the offensive line’s protections up front. Their crowd noise will also eliminate the ability to go no-huddle unless it is absolutely necessary, like in a late-game situation.
The Steelers have not won in Seattle since 1983, going 0-4 over the last road meetings. Keith Butler, ironically, was starting at linebacker for Seattle that day and made several tackles.
