The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
OC Haley not concerned about popularity
Todd Haley doesn’t care if his players like him. They just have to listen to him.
Haley will make his regular season debut as Browns offensive coordinator Sept. 9 against the Steelers. He was the Steelers’ offensive coordinator for the past six years, but Jan. 17 the Steelers announced his contract would not be renewed. He became a “free agent” and Jan. 24 walked into his office in Berea as one of Hue Jackson’s top assistants.
“There’s a respect level there, as I said a long time ago when I hired him,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “He’s one of the best in the business. That’s why he’s here. So he’s going to do things his way, and he’s done a great job.”
Haley and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger clashed occasionally when Haley was running the Steelers’ offense. But in the end, one day after the Steelers cut ties with Haley, Big Ben thanked Haley for their time together. The Steelers finished 8-8 in 2012, 8-8 in 2013 and then 11-5, 10-6, 11-5 and 13-3 to make the playoffs the last four years Haley and Roethlisberger were together.
“Look at the track record — top-five offense every year I thought was very impressive,” Roethlisberger told reporters in Pittsburgh. “What he brought to us with the playcalling, things like that, was awesome. I thank him for everything he did and now we get to play him twice a year and we’ll see what happens.”
Haley is downplaying the fact the opener is against his former team. He said it has no special meaning for him.
“I would like to say yes, but no (it does not),” Haley said. “Every week is the biggest game of the year. This just so happens to be against the team I worked for the last six years. If every week is not the biggest game of the year to us as coaches and to the players, then it is probably not going to go the way that we want it to go week in and week out.”
Chances are, if not in the opener, there might be times in games or
practices with the Browns when Haley and another headstrong player have a staredown. Haley will stand his ground.
“I can’t worry about perception,” Haley said after practice Sept. 6. “I’m a very competitive person that wants to succeed. I think most plays I’ve been, whether as a position coach, coordinator or head coach, I’ve found ways to succeed or have play at a high, high level that I’m coaching.”
Haley early in training camp had a disagreement with Jackson about resting players. The incident, specifically concerning running back Duke Johnson, was a subject of the first “Hard Knocks” on HBO.
“I have an opinion on it,” Haley said. “We need to get so much done. … if we live in our fears, I mean, our team has to get mentally tougher and be able to fight through . ... We’ve got to change this drastically and if we’ve got guys that haven’t done (expletive) sitting around doing nothing, I just don’t know how we’re going to do it.”