Anytime you bring in a new head coach or coordinator, players are going to be working on a learning curve with the new system or systems that the new coach is installing. Last year at this time, new coaches didn’t have the entire offseason to teach their players new systems, and it put first year head coaches and coordinators in a very difficult position.
This year, coaches do have the entire offseason, and the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator, Todd Haley, is taking advantage of it, saying of his new team’s ability to learn his offense, “You use all this time. It will be training camp and then it will be the real preseason games before anybody is totally comfortable.”
Bruce Arians’ departure from Pittsburgh was anything but smooth. There was a very clear divide between some of the players and fans as to how the situation should have been handled. One Steelers fan I talked to immediately following Arians’ forced departure was nothing short of thrilled that the Steelers could move on from his system. The biggest complaint against Arians was that he didn’t use his diverse set of playmakers effectively enough, something fans and players alike are hoping Haley can excel with.
It’s impossible to know just how well the Steelers will pick up their new offense, as Haley points out, until we see them on the field. The preseason and even the first few games of the regular season may reveal some kinks in the learning process, but I have to believe the Steelers will see a more consistent, if not more productive, offensive unit this fall.
