Former Steelers QB Neil O’Donnell nearly returned to start over Ben Roethlisberger
Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Matt Fitzgerald | Last updated 1/21/21
Ben Roethlisberger almost had a wildly different start to his lengthy tenure as Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback. Neil O’Donnell was all but finished with his NFL career when he got the call from his former head coach Bill Cowher to return to the team in 2004.
In an interview with Rich Salgado on "Big Daddy & Friends," O’Donnell discussed how he made the decision not to play for the Steelers one last time, which had a crazy ripple effect on the franchise and the course of Big Ben’s development.
The beginning of Roethlisberger’s tenure indeed could’ve gone very differently. Big Ben got drafted 11th overall out of Miami (Ohio) in 2004, and O’Donnell had only returned for one game in 2003 for the Titans, as Jeff Fisher lured him out of his initial retirement following the 2002 campaign.
After a five-year stint serving as Steve McNair’s backup with the Tennessee Titans ran its course, O’Donnell nearly came back for a 15th NFL season. However, he declined Cowher’s offer, Pittsburgh rolled with a rookie Roethlisberger and the rest is history.
“I’m a little superstitious,” O’Donnell said. “Everyone know what number I wore [No. 14]…If I could write a storyline saying I played in the NFL for 14 years, with, knock on wood, no really major surgeries…I didn’t want to take the chance going back one more year.”
O’Donnell added that he could’ve gone to Minnesota to play another two seasons for the Vikings but preferred instead to spend more time with his family.
During his time with the Steelers in the 1990s, O’Donnell posted an impressive 39-22 record as a starter, highlighted by guiding Pittsburgh to four playoff berths and Super Bowl XXX against the Dallas Cowboys.
What if O’Donnell would have taken the job?
Despite how late in his career the second Steelers stint opportunity arrived, O’Donnell still had something in the tank. In the Titans’ final game of 2003, he made his final NFL start and completed 18-of-27 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-13 victory, which improved Tennessee’s record to 12-4 at the time.
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