Former offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bruce Arians joined The Cook & Joe Show on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday and gave several of his thoughts regarding his former team.
Arians, most recently the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was with the Steelers from 2004-2006 as their wide receivers coach, and from 2007-2011 as OC. Arians helped the franchise in obtaining two Lombardi Trophies including Super Bowl XL and XLIII, before winning his first as a head coach down in Tampa in 2021.
Photo via Bucs Wire - USA Today
Arians likes the Steelers' new QB room
When asked about all of the recent changes happening in Pittsburgh, Arians expressed his excitement and happiness for his previous club. That included his thoughts on new general manager, Omar Khan:
"I think it's a great move for the Steelers. Omar has just been there so long, he knows the landscape, he knows how it's done. Obviously, he and Mike [Tomlin] work so well together. And he's a hell of an evaluator to add to the mix."
As far as Pittsburgh's 2022 first round draft pick in Kenny Pickett, Arians has liked what he's seen from the Heisman finalist so far:
"I like Kenny Pickett coming out. I thought he was the one pro-style quarterback this year that could play right away.""He was extremely well coached. Mark Whipple did a great job of that offense [Pitt Panthers]. He was in a pro-style offense where he was reading the whole field. Unlike most of these college guys that just read half the field. He was in that system and he's sneaky quick too. He can run and get out, and make plays with his legs more than people give him credit for. You don't have to run a 4.3 to be agile and be able to run. He does a great job of that, making plays outside of the pocket. But he's got the arm, and he can make every single throw. But I think coming out of that offense with 'Whip' had him ready for the NFL."
As we all know, there's another new face in the Steelers' quarterback room this off-season in Mitch Trubisky. Arians expressed how he believes the former No. 2 overall pick has the mobility to be the guy for Pittsburgh:
"Mitch [Trubisky] is a talented guy. Great athlete. I thought he fit really well what they were doing in Buffalo when he played up there. Showed off his ability, especially in empty backfield sets when he could get it out of his hand quick and use his legs, because he is such a great runner. It'll be interesting to see those guys battle it out."
Interesting indeed as the QB battle in Pittsburgh seems to be the hottest topic in the Steel City heading into the NFL's 2022 regular season.
Despite Arians' previous success in Pittsburgh, I believe his criticism on the way he ran the Steelers' offense, in particularly how exposed Ben Roethlisberger was, ultimately cut his time short for the black and gold. The Steelers wanted to keep their star quarterback upright for the long haul, but everything seemed to work out in the end for both parties. It's always nice to know that former players and coaches can still speak highly of an organization, especially if things didn't end the smoothest.
Arians was asked about what went wrong in Tampa with Antonio Brown. But he didn't really want to say much about that situation. Only saying that he was a huge part of them winning a Super Bowl title, and that the next year it just 'didn't work out'.
To listen to the full interview on 93.7 The Fan, click here.
Are yinz as excited about Khan, Pickett and Trubisky as Arians this is? What were your lasting impressions of Arians in Pittsburgh? Click to comment below!
#SteelerNation
