If he were not playing under Randy Fichtner, would Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger feel any kind of compulsion to reunite with Bruce Arians?
Whether or not he would, it’s hard to imagine him ever leaving the Steelers, but it’s fair to wonder if a part of him is not jealous of Tom Brady, who will be the new starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coached by Arians, who was Roethlisberger’s position coach, and then offensive coordinator, until 2012.
Speaking on SiriusXM yesterday, the quarterback was asked for his reaction to the news of Brady agreeing to sign with Tampa Bay, who also has former Steelers quarterback Byron Leftwich acting as their offensive coordinator.
“I was excited for him because I knew who he was going to play for in Bruce Arians, and he’s gonna enjoy the heck out of that because he was fun to play for”, Roethlisberger said. “And Byron Leftwich, I texted Byron, like, ‘hey, don’t screw it up’, and he said, ‘all I’ve got to do is get out of the way’. It’s gonna be good for him. I’m excited for all of them”.
Brady, of course, spent the first two decades of his career as the quarterback for the New England Patriots. During that time, he helped take the team to the Super Bowl a stunning nine times—that’s more than any other entire franchise has achieved on its own—with six championships, tying the Steelers for the most as an organization.
The quarterback many—but not Terry Bradshaw—believe to be the greatest of all time recently said that he knew before the start of last season that it would be his last in New England. Bill Belichick, meanwhile, has somewhat tried to downplay Brady’s loss, even though he doesn’t have much at the quarterback position right now.
Still, one has to wonder how much Brady can succeed with the Buccaneers. Will he instantly turn them into contenders? It’s certainly easily argued that he is an upgrade from Jameis Winston, who actually remains unsigned, but Tampa Bay wasn’t necessarily just a quarterback away from a championship-caliber roster.
The only thing that really concerns the Steelers is that the schism ultimately neuters the Patriots, perennially one of the top two or three threats in the AFC. Or at least, that is the hope. Can you imagine what Belichick’s reputation would become if he continues to win with Jared Stidham at quarterback?
