Rooney and Arians ... did something happen?

Ever since Dulac reported that Arians might not be returning, something hasn't smelled quite right. And everything that has been said since the announcement was made makes we wonder if something happened between Rooney and Arians. The whole situation just doesn't add up.

1. Tomlin's statement after the announcement seemed odd. A lot of people (including at least one P-G writer) commented on it. You could almost tell that Tomlin wasn't happy about what was happening.

2. There was confusion about whether Arians retired or was "fired." It wasn't until days later that we found out that his contract hadn't been renewed.

3. A week before the announcement, Tomlin said that both coordinators would be returning. If Rooney had planned to get rid of Arians, wouldn't he have clued his head coach in on his plans?

4. Arians claims that he has no idea why his contract wasn't renewed. I'm guessing he and Rooney had a conversation about it. Wouldn't the reason why it wasn't being renewed come up during that conversation?

5. Rooney's comments about Arians have been nothing short of odd. I keep waiting for him to answer a question with, "Arians? Sorry ... never heard of him."

Keep in mind ... everything I'm about to say is purely my own speculation and is probably nowhere near the truth.

I'm wondering if Rooney planned on renewing Arians' contract. They had a meeting to go over plans, and Rooney outlined changes he wants to see ... including Ben "tweaking" his game and a refocus on the running game. Arians, being arrogant about his philosophies and believing in letting Ben be Ben, probably wouldn't be receptive to changing anything. If this conversation took place, I could see a big disagreement between Rooney and Arians. Maybe one that got really heated and led to Rooney saying, "That's it. You're out of here!!"

That scenario is just me thinking out loud. But it would certainly explain why everyone, including Tomlin, didn't see it coming ... because it was an unplanned decision. And it would explain why Rooney's comments have been rather odd. He's not going to say exactly what transpired. Something similar to my scenario might not have happened, but I believe that something happened that we don't know about. And as tight-lipped as the Steelers organization is, we'll probably never know one way or the other.

Again, I'm just speculating and I'm probably dead wrong. But something just doesn't smell right.

My theory might sound a little nuts, but I don't think it's implausible. Here's a paragraph from a blog I just read, followed by a quote from Rooney ...

Quote :

Rooney seemed to not want to answer how the process of Arians not being around played out. He basically said in so many words that it doesn’t matter how Arians ended up not being the Steelers OC anymore.

“The question of how we got here is not really relevant,” Rooney said. “The key now is that Mike (Tomlin) has begun the search for our next offensive coordinator. We will go through the process and interview the right candidates.”

http://www.nflgridirongab.com/2012/01/26/art-rooney-ii-declines-to-give-the-real-answer-about-bruce-arians-departure-in-pittsburgh/

That sounds to me like someone who is a little bitter and is trying to hide something.

Elvis is still alive, I know what going on in area 51, and I know for a fact what happened in the Kennedy assassination.

Wallace if it walked and act like a duck it's a duck. Tomlin gave the OK to Arians before speeking to Rooney and Mr. Rooney was not comfortable with that. Tomlin had to chew on a little crow but he will get through it.

blastfurness wrote:

Elvis is still alive, I know what going on in area 51, and I know for a fact what happened in the Kennedy assassination.

Wallace if it walked and act like a duck it's a duck. Tomlin gave the OK to Arians before speeking to Rooney and Mr. Rooney was not comfortable with that. Tomlin had to chew on a little crow but he will get through it.

Just because everything isn't a conspiracy doesn't mean that there's no conspiracies.

I'm not suggesting that this rises to the level of conspiracy. I'm just suggesting that it's possible there's more to this story than what has been reported.

Tomlin didn't see this coming and then issued a short and rather odd comment about Arians' departure ... Ben is demanding answers from Rooney ... Arians has no idea why his contract wasn't renewed ... Rooney makes comments like "The question of how we got here is not really relevant."

It's not common for a Rooney to step in and make this kind of move. Everything about it just seems odd.

It happens all the time where something gets reported, and then we find out later that what was reported isn't exactly what happened. I have a suspicion that there's more to this story. As a journalist, if my mother tells me she loves me, I get a second source.

Wallace108 wrote:

As a journalist, if my mother tells me she loves me, I get a second source.

Now that sounds fishy. No way that could possibly be true.

Tomlin-good cop
Rooney- bad cop

its the classic good cop bad cop Tomlin just couldn't say Arians has to go because the Steelers made the playoffs and he couldn't hang all the Steelers toubles on the offense. Rooney seeing to many field goal instead of TDs and his 100 millon dollar QB taking a beating said I just won't renew his contract.

Hopefully the new OC will incorporate the short passing game into the Steelers offense and get help for the o-line.

biggest thing I bet with R2 was watching his 100 millon dollar QB take a beating year after year in Arians offense and Arians not changing his offense to fix it. except for a couple of games Arians put in a short passing game plan and what did R2 see? it worked then Arians dropped it.

bet R2 tells Ben to start hitting the underneath pass and quit holding on to the ball so long for the homerun.

Quote :

It's not common for a Rooney to step in and make this kind of move. Everything about it just seems odd.

I have to say that I've been wondering the same thing. And all of this goes down within what -- a few weeks?

I guess it's going to be like the tootsie pop - how many licks does it take to get to the center? The world may never know.

Rooney speaks about Arians exit

By Bob Smizik

Steelers president Art Rooney conducted numerous interviews with various media groups last week, many of which you might have read. This is one where you can actually hear what Rooney had to say and some of it is interesting and informative.

Bob Labriola, the editor of Steelers Digest, interviewed Rooney on Steelers.com and it provides a new twist to the firing/retirement/dismissal of offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.

It was first announced, amid some suspicion, that Arians retired. In a story in the York Daily Record, Arians suggested he had no choice but to retire when a new contract was not offered.

Rooney's explanation in this interview sheds new light on Arians departure, but hardly clears the air. This is part of what Rooney had to say:

``Bruce talked about retiring for a number of years now. We are looking to improve on offense and to have somebody in place for a number of years. I think it was time for a change. We are looking forward to moving on.”
-------------------------------------------------



Hardly clears the air? Yep. I still say there's more to this story.

Wallace108 wrote:

Rooney speaks about Arians exit

By Bob Smizik

Rooney's explanation in this interview sheds new light on Arians departure, but hardly clears the air. This is part of what Rooney had to say:

``Bruce talked about retiring for a number of years now. We are looking to improve on offense and to have somebody in place for a number of years. I think it was time for a change. We are looking forward to moving on.”
-------------------------------------------------



Hardly clears the air? Yep. I still say there's more to this story.

Actually, that quote is very telling. I don't see a conspiracy here. Rooney wasn't happy with the results of the offense and wanted a change. When he looked at Arians, he saw a guy that didn't deliver on a prior mandate to change (becoming more efficient in the run game) as well as a guy who seemed to not be committed to the long term. As an owner, it's seems logical if you're going to try to make a change in the offensive system, you should have someone that is committed to the long-term in command of those changes.

As for Arians not knowing why his contract wasn't renewed: well that tells me he's a bigger dumbass than I gave him credit for. Arians should have been able to take a little reflection time here and analyzed the situation: "I failed to improve the efficiency of the run game as mandated by the owner. I had some great offensive weapons, yet we were average at best. Because we underachieved, it's obvious we are going to have to make changes for next year. I've been talking retirement for a while and it should be obvious to all that my long-term commitment to this job is in question ............HOLY CRAP THEY DIDN'T OFFER ME A NEW CONTRACT!!!!!!!!!!".

Arians made it impossible for Rooney to offer him a new contract. If he wanted to stay on as the OC, he just needed to do one of the following: 1) Not spoken about retirement (in any job, never let the boss know you're thinking of quitting unless you don't care to be fired); 2) Greatly improve the efficiency of the run game; 3) Obtain the success warranted by the talent on the offense. Doing any one of these most likely would have gotten him a new contract.

And the media (especially the PG) that seems shocked by this move and have subtly vilified Rooney and supported Arians, they are dumbasses as well. As a business decision, I'd grade this move as an A+ on a no-brainer decision. I would have been disappointed if Rooney bunted and offered a one year extension. Instead, this was delivered as an underhanded softball pitch, and Rooney took it to the yard.

kirklandrules wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

Rooney speaks about Arians exit

By Bob Smizik

Rooney's explanation in this interview sheds new light on Arians departure, but hardly clears the air. This is part of what Rooney had to say:

``Bruce talked about retiring for a number of years now. We are looking to improve on offense and to have somebody in place for a number of years. I think it was time for a change. We are looking forward to moving on.”
-------------------------------------------------



Hardly clears the air? Yep. I still say there's more to this story.

Actually, that quote is very telling. I don't see a conspiracy here. Rooney wasn't happy with the results of the offense and wanted a change. When he looked at Arians, he saw a guy that didn't deliver on a prior mandate to change (becoming more efficient in the run game) as well as a guy who seemed to not be committed to the long term. As an owner, it's seems logical if you're going to try to make a change in the offensive system, you should have someone that is committed to the long-term in command of those changes.

As for Arians not knowing why his contract wasn't renewed: well that tells me he's a bigger dumbass than I gave him credit for. Arians should have been able to take a little reflection time here and analyzed the situation: "I failed to improve the efficiency of the run game as mandated by the owner. I had some great offensive weapons, yet we were average at best. Because we underachieved, it's obvious we are going to have to make changes for next year. I've been talking retirement for a while and it should be obvious to all that my long-term commitment to this job is in question ............HOLY CRAP THEY DIDN'T OFFER ME A NEW CONTRACT!!!!!!!!!!".

Arians made it impossible for Rooney to offer him a new contract. If he wanted to stay on as the OC, he just needed to do one of the following: 1) Not spoken about retirement (in any job, never let the boss know you're thinking of quitting unless you don't care to be fired); 2) Greatly improve the efficiency of the run game; 3) Obtain the success warranted by the talent on the offense. Doing any one of these most likely would have gotten him a new contract.

And the media (especially the PG) that seems shocked by this move and have subtly vilified Rooney and supported Arians, they are dumbasses as well. As a business decision, I'd grade this move as an A+ on a no-brainer decision. I would have been disappointed if Rooney bunted and offered a one year extension. Instead, this was delivered as an underhanded softball pitch, and Rooney took it to the yard.

Well said. I once gave a 2 week notice on a bluff and when they called it I was pissed but not surprised. They hired another guy for less money. I'm not saying the FO office will go the el cheapo route because we all know next to Dan Snyder the Roonys are the polar opposite. I'm just agreeing that if you continue to talk retirement and your efforts fall short someone will retire you! It doesn
t take a genius to figure this out. After saying all that I really think it could have been BA telling ArtII about how much he's done for this team and that he will run things his way and that's that. If that is the case some may say he showed "Balls" but most would agree he' an idiot!!!

You guys very well could be absolutely right, and I might just be barking up the wrong tree. But I'm just not sure I believe Rooney's reasoning that Arians couldn't commit long-term. Heck, LeBeau has been coaching "year-to-year" for about the past decade.

But I do wonder if Arians' interest in head-coaching jobs factored into this? Usually, it's a team that pursues a coordinator. I don't recall ever hearing about a coordinator actively pursuing a head-coaching job as Arians did last year. I'm not sure when it became known that Arians "applied" for every head-coaching vacancy last year, but if Rooney just found out, that could explain the sudden change of course. And it would also explain why it seems Rooney doesn't even wanna talk about him and why he got such a cold send-off.

Yeah, I know this is all just pointless theorizing. But there's not much Steelers news right now, so this gives me something to talk about.