Recently, former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman, Max Starks accused retired quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator at the time, Bruce Arians of constructing a game plan for Super Bowl XLV in order to make the signal-caller MVP of the game. It has caused plenty of speculation about the game and many believe if Pittsburgh was run heavy from the very beginning, would have been victorious. Instead, Roethlisberger's pass attempts almost doubled the team's rushing attempts.
Steelers retired quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger (#7) runs on the field to warm up prior to a 2021 regular season game in Pittsburgh, PA. | PHOTO CREDIT: JORDAN SCHOFIELD / STEELERNATION (TWITTER: @JSKO_PHOTO)
When speaking with 93.7 The Fan's PM Team w/ Poni and Mueller, NFL analyst and insider, Mike Florio said that Starks' comments are absolutely true based on what he has heard over the years about Pittsburgh's last Super Bowl appearance against the Green Bay Packers in 2011.
"Yes. A certain player and a trophy irrelevant to the Lombardi Trophy and that's one of the reasons the offensive coordinator retired one year later," Florio said.
He even continued and went on to say that specific players on the team that season have told him the game plan was definitely planned out to help the starting quarterback be the MVP. He insinuated that Arians retired one year later, in part because he was forced out due to the preparation for the big game.
"I've heard that before from players on the team. After Super Bowl XLIII when it should have been Ben instead of Santonio Holmes, as the argument goes. This was the opportunity for Ben to be Super Bowl MVP and him and his good friend, who was retired one year later, who would go on to win a Super Bowl with another quarterback, a couple of years ago... they constructed a game plan aimed at making Ben the MVP of the game."
Photo Credit: Associated Press
After over a decade has passed, Florio is still confident that the belief in the Steelers building was that the franchise quarterback and his play-caller were very close personally.
"The thinking is that the Arians and Roethlisberger relationship too cozy, too friendly."
There is no doubt that the Roethlisberger-Arians era was a good one for Pittsburgh. He helped to mold the young signal-caller and it ended up leading to a Hall of Fame career. With that said, Florio thinks Super Bowl XLV and the closeness of the two's relationship was the main reason Arians ended up parting ways with the organization.
"I think Arians and Roethlisberger had a lot of power and it worked. The belief in the organization was they were too close and they had to break that up and the biggest problem that relationship manifested was Super Bowl XLV.
A young Steelers Ben Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator, Bruce Arians stand next to one another during a team practice. | Peter Diana / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers Offensive Coordinator Position Has Been In Flux Since
Since Arians left, the team has not returned to the big game and are currently on their third offensive coordinator in Matt Canada. None of the three have gotten the city of Pittsburgh to necessarily buy into their tactics and there is a growing concern that head coach, Mike Tomlin doesn't understand how to evaluate the critical coaching position.
The question also arises if Tomlin had enough of Arians having too much influence and power. Thus, leading to him hiring three offensive play-callers since that aren't exactly the most outspoken. Regardless of if Roethlisberger and Arians had a secret plan in 2011, it should make fans wonder about who had the final say asking Arians to walk away and why.
Do you believe what Florio was saying about Arians' departure? Let us know in the comments below!
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