By Ronald N. Guy Jr.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had but three head
coaches - Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin – since 1969 and have been run
by the Rooney family since the franchise’s inception in 1933.
I’ve used those statistics in this column before, but that
doesn’t make them any less amazing. The
three head coaches over five decades is particularly mind boggling, considering
the transient nature of the career field.
Professional coaches live out of suitcases in pre-furnished, rented
apartments. Their families don’t
immediately uproot to move to their latest employment destination. They pay monthly storage fees in multiple
cities. Absentee ballot has been their voting
method since the Reagan administration. Papa
was a rolling stone; wherever he laid his hat was his home. Ditto for professional coaches.
Except, of course, in Pittsburgh. Except, of course, for the Steelers.
Organizations talk about stability, establishing core
values, brand creation and developing a symbiotic relationship with their city,
the type that oozes into the pores of locals and, over decades, creates a
nationwide fan base. Some succeed
briefly or even for an era; most fail miserably and quickly. Coaches are then fired. Executives are run off. Organizational reboots follow.
Except in Pittsburgh.
Except for the Steelers.
Until now?
What is going on in western Pennsylvania? First Le’Veon Bell – one of the top running
backs in football - gets into the mother of all contract disputes and sits out
this season. Now Antonio Brown – among the
NFL’s best wide receivers – essentially goes AWOL before a pivotal
season-ending game and seems determined to finagle his way out of Pittsburgh for
the contentment that apparently awaits in some other NFL locale. QB Ben Roethlisberger is doing damage
control, head coach Mike Tomlin seems fatigued by the public drama and Steeler
nation is likely befuddled by why Bell and Brown wouldn’t want to join Jerome
Bettis and Franco Harris and Lynn Swann and John Stallworth as fellow Steelers
Hall of Fame running backs and wide receivers.
The situation is hot mess, so much so that TE Jesse James likened the
Steelers…the Pittsburgh Steelers…to the Kardashians.
For D.C. football fans, this dysfunction, lack of
logic and loss of direction is routine.
The Washington football team has been a rudderless, overly dramatic and substance-lacking
disaster for at least 20 years – a period coinciding with Daniel Snyder’s
ownership. Kirk Cousins’s exhausting multi-year
contract squabble and ultimate exit from D.C. is not identical to Bell’s or
Brown’s situation, but it shares similarities.
Like Bell, Cousins felt under-valued and never could reach a long-term
agreement; like Brown, his relationship with the organization became
irreparable. Cousins left for greener
pastures - and a lot of greenbacks - in Minnesota. Bell’s a free agent and on his way out of
Pittsburgh. Brown, who remains under
contract with Pittsburgh, doesn’t seem far behind.
Business is business, but who’s winning here? Minnesota, Washington and Pittsburgh all
regressed this season. Cousins’s
performance fell far short of his $26M price tag. Washington’s fix at quarterback – Alex Smith
– suffered a horrific injury and may never play again. Bell didn’t earn a dime. Brown is laying waste to his Pittsburgh
career and reputation. If Pittsburgh
loses both Bell and Brown, the once irreproachable Steelers organization deserves
criticism. And none of them, neither the
teams nor the players – are participating in the playoffs this year.
How all this came to pass is unclear. The suspects?
Pride, ego and money – in spades.
Maybe Cousins eventually plays up to his contract in Minnesota or
Washington finds a better solution at quarterback. Pittsburgh might be better without the Bell
and Brown distractions; a fresh start on a different NFL team may serve both
players well. The bet, though, is that
all of the above, soon or on some distant day, will wish they had of worked a
little harder to make it work.
Familiarity can breed contempt.
Change can be seductive. But
sometimes staying the course – and the character-building scar tissue, the
relationships and the deep satisfaction it can yield - is worth the grind.
I’ll stop there because this is starting to feel like
marriage counseling…and that’s way beyond my qualifications.
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