Todd Haley yet to agree to interview with Arizona Cardinals
By Matt Shetler
Last week it was reported that Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator Todd Haley was on the short list of people to be interviewed for the head coaching vacancy with the Arizona Cardinals.
The Steelers granted Arizona permission to interview Haley, but to this point Haley has yet to agree to the interview.
Sep 16, 2012; Pittsburgh , PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) talks with offensive coordinator Todd Haley during the second half of the game against the New York Jets at Heinz Field. The Steelers won the game, 27-10. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports
Pittsburgh can’t block Haley from taking the interview, but he can turn down the opportunity himself. According to Ed Werder of ESPN, Haley might wind up doing just that.
Werder reported that Haley has yet to agree to the interview because “he loves working for” the Steelers.
However the real reason could be that Haley is trying to judge how serious of a candidate that he is for the job. All indications would point to him being a serious candidate, possibly even the front-runner for the job, which makes his reluctance to go after the Cardinals job a bit strange.
Make no mistake about it, as much as Haley likes working for the Steelers organization, pretty much every coordinator wants to be a head coach and Haley is no different.
Haley’s reluctance could also have a lot to do with the current quarterback situation in Arizona, which is hands down the worst in the NFL.
It was a rocky first year for Haley in Pittsburgh as he and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger never quite seemed to see eye to eye on the best way to run the offense, but the attraction to stay in Pittsburgh is the fact that he has Roethlisberger- one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.
Haley’s offense had success initially as the offensive coordinator in Arizona, because he had a great quarterback in Kurt Warner. He had far less success having to lean on Matt Cassel in Kansas City, so it’s easy to see how it could be hard for Haley to leave Roethlisberger for the likes of Kevin Kolb, John Skelton, Ryan Lindley and whoever the Cardinals bring in to attempt to patch the hole.
Taking a head coaching job without a quarterback is just asking to get fired and you only get so many shots in the NFL as a head coach.
This very well could be Haley’s last and he has to be very cautious about the situation he jumps into to.