Chicago Bears: 7 Possible replacements for John Fox
6. Todd Haley, Pittsburgh Steelers, Offensive Coordinator
When we think of the Pittsburgh Steelers we think of the Steel Curtain defense the franchise had over the decades. They are similar to the Bears in that way. However, in the past several seasons, their offense garnered much of the attention. A big reason for that is offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
Haley has a 21-season coaching career, all in the NFL. He was the Kansas City Chiefs head coach from 2009-11. He compiled a 19-26 record with Matt Cassel as his quarterback. The Chiefs started to turn things around after they traded for Alex Smith.
In the past three seasons, his offense ranked in the top ten in both yards and points scored. These are areas where the Bears struggle. As good as the Bears defense is, having the unit play so much on the field hurts at the end of games. Longer drives and more points helps the defense
Haley has ties with the Bears. He coached the wide receivers in Chicago from 2001-03. People in Halas Hall know him and that helps his chances. He’s also worked with wide receivers for several other teams so that experience comes in handy when trying to deal with the Bears receivers (though we hope the unit greatly improves over the offseason).
A big positive for Haley is his strong personality. He won’t bow down to pressure coming either from the inside or outside of the team. In his first two seasons in Pittsburgh, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t sure about the offense. He had his clashes with Haley and at one point some thought Haley was on the chopping block. Instead, Haley kept going and got Roethlisberger on the same page and the offense flourished ever since.
Things are wild with the Steelers at the moment. Players complaining about touches and Roethlisberger thinking about retirement turned their situation into a soap opera. Their offense started out slow, but now is running like a well-oiled machine through it all. Todd Haley would be a great coach to develop Trubisky.