Todd Haley will call plays from the sidelines, not the booth

The experiment is over.

Offensive coordinator Todd Haley will return to the field and relay plays to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger from the sidelines, just as he has every game during his five years with the Steelers.

Haley sat in the coaches’ booth during the preseason to see if it was better for him to be up high rather than on the sidelines to call plays. But his preference is to be on the field, and he will return there when the Steelers open their regular season Sunday in Cleveland.


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http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/s...s/201709050121

Surprised this was even a thing. Tomlin nagged Gruden to no end when he was in Tampa about coaching from the sidelines...lol. Gruden wanted him upstairs and Tomlin fought to be on the sidelines.

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Originally Posted by 86WARD

Surprised this was even a thing. Tomlin nagged Gruden to no end when he was in Tampa about coaching from the sidelines...lol. Gruden wanted him upstairs and Tomlin fought to be on the sidelines.

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Maybe a sign of how open he is to change right now.

I think Ben was looking forward to having Haley in the booth so Ben could talk on the sidelines with QB coach Randy Fitchner instead :chuckle:

I always think of Bob Uecker calling games in Major League when I think of coaches in the box. Haley searching through stacks of papers looking for the next play. An open bottle of Jack Daniels always within reach.

I personally think a coach gets a better feel for the game, the mood of the players and can get instant feedback from them on the sidelines. I have spotted for guys from the booth in highschool games and you are just feeding information and suggestions to the coach on the sidelines, where as on the sidelines, you are in the middle of the battle.

I think some of the guys that like to be upstairs to call games may believe they see more than the coaches that would be spotting for them do.

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Originally Posted by El-Gonzo Jackson

I personally think a coach gets a better feel for the game, the mood of the players and can get instant feedback from them on the sidelines. I have spotted for guys from the booth in highschool games and you are just feeding information and suggestions to the coach on the sidelines, where as on the sidelines, you are in the middle of the battle.

I think some of the guys that like to be upstairs to call games may believe they see more than the coaches that would be spotting for them do.

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I agree. I think coordinators get a better feel for the game from the sideline. They get to see the players coming off the field, and get to look into their eyes to determine where their mind is at and where they need to go with the ball. That's information that they can use besides the input from the booth, or the overhead photos that go right to the sideline. IMO, there's nothing like being able to talk to the QB when he comes to the sideline, or getting input from players that they trust about what's happening on the field that they may not see or feel.

I think some guys like the booth because they like being able to better see how defenses are reacting to the offensive plays. They like being able to see something that the defense reacted to, and being able to instantly call a play to try to take advantage of that. I understand that, but I prefer the play calling coming from the sideline.

I don't care where he calls the plays as long as he stops bogging down drives by getting cute calling trick plays when the run game is pounding the opposition and stops calling those damn bubbles screens he's been calling in spades during the preseason

You coach practice from the "ground", coach the games from the ground...