The decision to push out Arians apparently has been made by team president Art Rooney II. The most recent time I talked to Arians about his future, he made it clear he wants to come back. "These young guys have made it so much fun for me," he said of the team's young wide receivers. It's believed coach Mike Tomlin wants Arians back. At his season-ending news conference after a wild-card playoff loss to the Denver Broncos, he said he anticipated his coaching staff remaining intact.
But Tuesday, Rooney told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette that a few Steelers coaches are considering retirement. Surely, any official announcement about Arians -- perhaps this week or next -- will make it sound as if the retirement decision is his alone. Don't be fooled. That doesn't mean it isn't Rooney who has decided it's time for Arians to go.
Firing Arians now is just as wrong as it would have been after the 2009 season when there was media speculation he was out. The Steelers went 9-7 and missed the playoffs that year, although the offense wasn't nearly as much to blame as the defense, which blew five fourth-quarter leads, and the special teams, which allowed four kickoff returns for touchdowns. Roethlisberger went to management and Tomlin and argued to keep Arians. It's hard to say what impact he had, but Arians stayed. Good thing because the team made it to the Super Bowl in '10. In '08, it won Super Bowl XLIII with Arians calling the plays, including those on the late, 78-yard winning drive.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12020/1204705-87-0.stm
I think this pretty much confirms what many of us thought going back two years ago. That being that someone high up in the Steelers organization wanted Bruce out.
Not that it matters now. But there was way too much smoke for their not to be anything to the story. Guys like Ed Bouchette, Jim Wexall, Gerry Dulac etc... do not just go making things up.