High Character Men Making The Calls For The Pittsburgh Steelers

On the offensive side of the ball, the Steelers have another disciple of the Paul "Bear" Bryant coaching tree in Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians. A former quarterback at Virginia Tech, Arians was promoted from wide receivers coach when Tomlin was put in charge.

In the past, he worked with a young Peyton Manning, helping him pass Johnny Unitas' record for touchdown passes in a season. This is exactly the same record that he would later help Ben Roethlisberger break, bettering Terry Bradshaw's mark with 32 in 2007. 

When it comes to the offensive game plan and play calling, Arians is the man in charge. Arians has led the adaptation of the Steelers from a grind-it-out running team, to a balanced attack that will take advantage of a team through the air or on the ground. 

Arians' promotion into the offensive coordinator position in Tomlin's first year helped solidify the chemistry for Ben Roethlisberger during the staff turnover. Roethlisberger has been very vocal on his support of Arians and the duo have produced exceptional results. 

During his tenure with the Steelers, Arians has also been vital to the development of Hines Ward, and now Santonio Holmes.

By utilizing the strengths of the players, Arians has helped the Steelers create a balanced attack with Ward and Holmes on the outside and Roethlisberger finding the open man—even if it does take a little longer than it's drawn up. 

Much of the remaining offensive staff was brought in with Mike Tomlin in his first season. 

Larry Zierlein was brought in to run the offensive line and has been making progress developing a relatively young group of players. His players met the call last season when a rash of injuries along the line could have meant doom for the team.

Ken Anderson, long remembered for his great play as a quarterback for the Bengals, is in charge of the quarterbacks. This season, he is saddled with helping Roethlisberger develop further and turning second-year pro Dennis Dixon into a reliable backup. 

Runnning Backs Coach Kirby Wilson has been a large contributor to the success Willie Parker has had over the last two seasons, and will now have a first-round pick, Rashard Mendenhall, at his disposal. 

Along with Zierlein, Anderson, and Wislon, Randy Fichtner was brought in with the then-first-year head coach. Richtner is responsible for the development of the wide receivers and their preparations each week. 

The big goal for this season at wideout will be to find a replacement for Nate Washington's production. A lot will be made of Fichtner's progress with second-year receiver Limas Sweed.

The offensive coaching staff is rounded out with a hold-over from the previous staff with Tight Ends Coach James Daniel. He, along with the rest of the offensive group, work together under Arians to scour endless hours of tape on their offense and opposing defenses. 

Their goal each week is to put the right tools at Arians' disposal each week in terms of schemes, players, and plays.

The special teams units are run by Bob Ligashesky who has had previous stints with the St. Louis Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars. Also going into his third year, hired when Mike Tomlin took over, Ligashesky previously held a position with the University of Pittsburgh. 

This season, he will work with his assistant, Amos Jones, to improve upon the Steelers ailing return game while improving the punting unit with the return of Daniel Sepulveda.

Working with all the units is Conditioning Coordinator Garrett Giemont. He has specialized in training and conditioning for over 26 years in the NFL. Another of Tomlin's hires, he has brought a vast improvement to the teams' training regimen and injury prevention. 

The Steelers were criticized for being a little archaic in their training programs before Giemont, but may have now found the system that works best for everyone.

Overall, it's the teamwork between the players and the coaches, the mutual respect for each other, that has led the Steelers to success. The respect has been earned both in the trenches and in the meeting rooms, creating the cohesion necessary to win championships.

It's debatable whether a coaching staff or the players are more important to an organization's success. However, the facts go to prove that the Steelers have all the right pieces in place, on the field, and off. 

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