Worst-Case Scenario for the Pittsburgh Steelers: The Todd Haley Experiment Fails

Maybe Ben Roethlisberger's rumored dissatisfaction with the Todd Haley hire has been overblown. Maybe the fact that 90 percent of Haley's playbook (terminology, use of fullbacks, more tight ends, more passes caught by running backs) is different from that of former offensive coordinator Bruce Arians' won't be a problem.

But if Haley's first year as Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator goes sour, it's the worst thing that could happen to the team this season.

It's not just the changes to the playbook and Roethlisberger's repeated claims that is hard to interpret at this early point in the season—it's the entire Haley package.

He's brash and confrontational, which is a style of coordinator the Steelers haven't had on the sideline in years. And that style may wear thin for both the players he's charged with motivating as well as head coach Mike Tomlin.

Likely, none of Haley's personality quirks will be an issue for players or fellow coaches alike if his play calls produce the desired results. But a bit of first-year hiccups combined with his aggressiveness could result in a divided locker room.

Haley wants to keep Roethlisberger protected by keeping him in the pocket, something that Roethlisberger himself has said will take time getting used to. If he doesn't feel right, if he'd rather be scrambling as we're all used to seeing, he'll likely take issue with Haley's new stance fairly quickly.

An off-field battle between a coordinator and quarterback isn't ideal, though it's also not uncommon. When it translates onto the field however, that's when things get dangerous.

This creates a situation in which the quarterback has taken a clear side against the coordinator, and puts his receivers, running backs and offensive linemen in an extremely awkward and tense situation.

Imagine if the tug of war between Haley and Roethlisberger got to this point? Would Roethlisberger's teammates side with their longtime quarterback or a first-year coordinator?

Clearly, it seems the scales would tip in Roethlisberger's favor, but players who were given a boost by Haley's system—or brought in under Haley's behest, like tight end Leonard Pope—would side with their coordinator.

This would result in a mess that a winning record may ultimately not be able to fix. A mutiny against the coordinator, presided by the quarterback, isn't a way for Haley to stay in the franchise's good graces.

That is unless the franchise values Haley's contributions greater than Roethlisberger's, which would result in a whole other can of extremely toxic worms being opened.

If Haley's opportunity to work with the Steelers offense falls flat, if he does more harm than good, then it's going to be a divided and distracted team that takes the field this year. And that's just about the worst thing that could happen to the perennially successful Steelers in 2012.

This is part four of a four-part series examining the worst-case scenarios that could befall each AFC North team. Part one (Bengals) is here, part two (Ravens) is here and part three (Browns) can be found here.

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