Todd Haley Shares His Largest NFL Remorse

For someone who coached in the NFL as long as former Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator Todd Haley, there’s bound to be regret. For Haley, one play sticks out above the others. Joining ESPN’s Kevin Clark on the most recent episode of Clark’s This Is Football podcast. 

“We were playing a game in Pittsburgh,” Haley told Clark. “Us coaches, we think we have all these great ideas. So I’m going to run a little fake jet sweep in a short-yardage situation, and Ben’s gonna fake the jet sweep, and then we’ll throw play-action for a big play to Heath Miller. Well, Ben faked the jet sweep. Turned his back to the defense because of my dumb idea, and threw it to the defense.”

Haley initially had us a little stumped on what play he was referring to, telling Clark he couldn’t remember the year or opponent, but thinks Pittsburgh still won and referred to it as a “big game.”

Digging through the play-by-play, it appears Haley is referring not to Heath Miller but TE Jesse James in a 2016 win at home against the Baltimore Ravens. Trailing 17-10 late in the third quarter, WR Eli Rogers jetted across the field as Roethlisberger turned his back without even executing a fake to the back, helping the defense key pass all the way. A throw to the short right seam for James was picked by LB C.J. Mosley, who returned it the other way for 28 yards.

That “big game” was Antonio Brown’s “Immaculate Extension” after his last-second goal-line stretch vaulted Pittsburgh over Baltimore en route to winning the AFC North. Though all’s well that ends well, Haley’s mentor had a message for him.

“I get to the coaches locker room right after the game. There’s a message from Coach Parcells. He says, ‘Call me, we need to talk.’ So I called him later that night. He said, you never turn your quarterback’s back to the defense in that situation. I want you to go in there tomorrow and tell Ben and the entire offense you put them in a bad position. So I had to go in there and do it. He called me the next day and said, did you do it? I said, ‘Yes, Coach, I did it.’ So if I could have one play back, it’d be that one.”

As Haley explained to Clark, turning the quarterback’s back on a quick throw is a dubious combination. It prevented Roethlisberger from reading the defense and seeing Mosley, then one of the game’s top linebackers, moving over to cover James down the seam.

Having Parcells make Haley own it the next day only adds to the regret. But kudos to Parcells and Haley for following through and being accountable to the moment. As much as Haley was criticized for his brash and often arrogant nature, he provided an honest and humble answer to Clark’s question. No coach likes reliving their worst moments, but Haley was able to give a thoughtful answer. The medicine sure goes down better in a win, too.