The Pittsburgh Steelers had just suffered a huge blow against the Baltimore Ravens in the second game of the 2004 season. Starting quarterback Tommy Maddox had been injured and would be lost for half of the season. That left rookie Ben Roethlisberger as the next man up. We all know how that turned out.
The Steelers went 15-1 during the regular season before losing to the New England Patriots in the 2004 AFC Championship game. But Roethlisberger's starting role almost never happened in 2004 according to former Steelers quarterback, Neil O'Donnell.
[incontent2]
I know, most of you have probably erased that name from your memory, and rightfully so. That Super Bowl is one of my earliest memories of the Steelers. It was probably the first heart break of my life. O'Donnell quickly left town following that loss, and headed to the New York Jets. Then the Cincinnati Bengals, and Tennessee Titans. He never was able to replicate what he did in Pittsburgh. He promptly lost all six of his starts for the Jets in 1996 before being lost for the season due to injury. He came back in 1997 to win 8 games, but he was released following the season. He would only win 7 games the rest of his career mostly as a back-up.
Now in an interview last year with Big Daddy and Friends, O'Donnell revealed that then Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher reached out to him after Maddox was injured. O'Donnell had been retired for one season already, but because of the relationship he still had with his former coach, Cowher made the call.
“I remember the call. I’m a little superstitious,” O’Donnell said. “Everyone knows 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. Coach Cowher was you know, he and I are very close even to this day.”
[incontent3]
It's good for SteelerNation that O'Donnell didn't wear #15. Had he came back for a last hurrah with the Steelers and kept Roethlisberger off the field, he may have cost the Steelers TWO MORE Super Bowls for all we know. And he would've gave us one less season of watching Roethlisberger's amazing ability on the field.
The entire situation is just a horrible idea. Roethlisberger wasn't a mid-round pick that HAD to have time to get used to the NFL. Sure in an ideal world, he would've sat out in 2004, came in as the known starter in 2005 and rolled, but that wasn't Roethlisberger's style. O'Donnell wouldn't of received a welcome in his return. Not only did he cost them the Super Bowl, he led the Bengals to a win against the Steelers in 1998 when starter Jeff Blake was out.
Thank you Neil for making that decision, and sparing all of us that nightmare that would've been.
