Mike Tomlin did not want to let Bruce Arians go. He even gave his ex-offensive coordinator an endorsement after the Steelers loss in the playoffs to the Denver Broncos. However, team president Art Rooney was not happy with the offense during the 2011 season and forced Arians out. When the Steelers hired Todd Haley to take over it was believed that it was Rooney who wanted Haley. News today is reporting that Haley was hired by Tomlin, however, and that Rooney did not know until after Tomlin had hired him.
Haley, who is known to be a fiery coach, is meeting with players, but has yet to meet with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger was quoted as saying that he is interested in seeing what direction Haley plans to take the offense. Roethlisberger has also stated that he believed the offense was on the right track and would like to change very little. One thing Haley has always been good at is getting the most out of his players and he will have even more play-makers in Pittsburgh than he had in Kansas City the past two seasons.
As far as the franchise tag is concerned it is believed the Steelers may use it on WR Mike Wallace. If the Steelers franchise Wallace it will guarantee he stays in Pittsburgh and give them time to hammer out a long term contract. On the other hand, if the Steelers place a restricted free agent tender on Wallace they risk losing him. A team at the back-end of the first round in need of a receiver may be willing to give up their first round pick to sign Wallace ( Baltimore, San Fransisco, and New England have been mentioned). These teams could also front load the contract making it impossible for the Steelers to match the contract (as a restricted free agent the Steelers can match any offer from another team to retain Wallace). However, a front loaded deal would be impossible for the Steelers to match due to their current salary cap issues.
