Todd Haley Will Give Cleveland Browns Offensive Much Needed Boost
Todd Haley signed earlier this week as the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns and brings accomplishment and credibility with him from his coaching days with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The move strengthens the team’s coaching staff while allowing head coach Hue Jackson to focus on the overall team. Especially now that it is expected Haley will take over calling the plays.
Prior to his hiring by the Browns, Haley has had success in Arizona with Kurt Warner as the quarterback, in Kansas City with Matt Cassel under center, and with Pittsburgh coaching future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger.
He likes to challenge his players and holds each player on his offense accountable including the backs and receivers.
One might say Haley’s Steelers job was easy given the abundance of talent there, but that is not the case.
Haley while the coordinator with Pittsburgh had to deal with the egos and wants of Le’Veon Bell, arguably the best all-round running back in the game, Antonio Brown arguably the best wide receiver in the game and Martavis Bryant a talented yet impatient player. All three wanted the football as much as possible.
As well as that, Haley had to deal with Roethlisberger wanting to call his own plays and run Pittsburgh’s offense.
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Haley’s results while with the Steelers were impressive to say the least. Pittsburgh was third in the NFL in yards per play under Haley. Over the past four seasons they were second in overall scoring behind just New England. During six seasons as OC with Pittsburgh, the offense ranked second, third twice, seventh, 20th and 21st.
For many it was surprising when Pittsburgh opted not to keep Haley even after the offense put up 42 points in a playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, considered one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Randy Fichtner was promoted by the team from quarterback’s coach to offensive coordinator and will work with Roethlisberger next and beyond if Big Ben continues playing after next season.
Haley is not afraid of running the ball. With the Steelers, Haley’s offense ran the ball 40% of the snaps during 2017 and in 2016 it was 41%. However, the Browns do not have an offensive line or running back anywhere near equal to the Steelers.
However, the Browns appear to be establishing a strong coaching lineup. With Jackson, Gregg Williams as defensive coordinator and now Haley to run the offense. Let’s hope for their sake and their fans, they can add players to the mix to turn the franchise around.
