Not only do the Pittsburgh Steelers boast one of their most talented groups, the level of consistency and continuity the group has the ability to maximize the talent. That’s what Todd Haley pointed out to Missi Matthews in their one-on-one interview over on Steelers.com.
“This being year five for me and really a lot of us that are here, it’s a little more advanced than it was in the beginning when it was truly teaching sessions.”
From a coaching staff perspective, there hasn’t been much turnover in the coaching staff. Running backs coach James Saxon and offensive line coach Mike Munchak were the latest adds, hired in 2014 and now fully assimilated into the Steelers’ system.
Quarterback coach Randy Fichtner has been with the team since Mike Tomlin hired him in 2007. James Daniel, the tight ends coach, was hired in 2004, while wide receivers coach Richard Mann has been here since 2013. It’s a consistency most teams simply don’t achieve.
“We have so many guys who have been around who understand the language, understand the concepts we’re talking about. We’re able to fine tune things and get in depth and coaching the details. It’s been a very positive time for us this year.”
The core players are no different. Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell can all be considered veterans of the system with an offensive line groomed in earlier this decade: Maurkice Pouncey, Marcus Gilbert, and David DeCastro.
That veteran group, coaches to players, should help ease the transition of the younger or newer players. Ladarius Green and Sammie Coates the two most notable names expected to make significant contributions to the 2016 Steelers’ offense.
For those new players, Haley values great conditioning and high football IQs during this spring work, a precursor to get prepared for training camp when you can “smell the season coming.” That shouldn’t be a surprise and basically echoes what Tomlin has said throughout the process.
