Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers, Hines Ward and Antonio Brown are indeed viewed differently by fans of the organization. They both may be the top two wideouts in the franchise's history, but the on and off-the-field antics of one have had millions of people thinking negatively of him the last few years. The current XFL head coach in Ward, on the other hand, is a Super Bowl hero in Pittsburgh and remains a fan favorite to this day.
We hear a lot of credit given to Head Coach, Mike Tomlin for handling Brown for years, but the pass catcher was apparently causing issues in the locker room long before his numerous public breakdowns since being traded from the Steelers in 2019.
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Back in May, the disgruntled free agent joined the Cigar Talk podcast and bluntly spoke about how he felt about his teammate in Ward towards the latter half of the former Super Bowl MVP's career in 2010.
"I’m trying to tell him, ‘Hurry up and get out the way [laughs].’ When you in the NFL, it’s time to pave your own way, set your own principles. You know what I mean? At that point — Hines Ward was not the same guy I looked at in college … It’s my time, I’m going to take his spot. Like he need to be on the bench and watching me play," Brown said.
The words shouldn't come as shocking as the ego and attitude of the former All-Pro have been put on display over the last three years, but on Wednesday, NFL reporter, Aditi Kinkhabwala joined 93.7 The Fan and told a crazy story about Tomlin wanting to hire his former player, Ward to be the team's wide receivers coach in 2013, but Brown's attitude and approach wouldn't allow it.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, left, meets with Antonio Brown before an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015, in Pittsburgh. (Photo Credit: AP Photo/Don Wright)
"It didn't happen because Hines was telling me that he wanted to have final say. He wanted to be able to hold everyone accountable the way he wanted to. And at that point, AB already had his own rule. And Hines had gone to Mike Tomlin and said 'I can't do this unless I get to make the rules, unless everyone adheres to what I want and how I want it done.' And AB was already past that," Kinkhabwala detailed.
Richard Mann ended up getting the position from Tomlin and the city of Pittsburgh will forever wonder what it would have been like if the dynamic offensive star didn't do whatever he wanted. He would go on to have an incredibly productive career until he was traded, but not wanting your former teammate and Pro Bowler as a coach speaks volumes about what he thought about himself and how he viewed his control within the organization.
While beating to his own drum is not a shock to anyone reading this, it has mostly been understood that he put his head down and worked leading up to the future divorce with Pittsburgh in 2019, but it seems like he was causing tension and having attitude issues long before it was seen by all of us at home. Ward would have been a great addition to the staff, but a very talked-about hire.
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The combination of not all of the attention centering around him in the receiver's room and having to abide by someone else's rules wasn't in the cards for Brown. He was not going to let anyone get in the way of him living above the law and doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. The overall understanding throughout the sports world that Brown was a handful later in his Steelers career could be a misunderstanding. He was a tough player to handle both on and off the field for the majority of his time in the Steel City, even affecting coaching hires.
What are your thoughts on Brown affecting the potential hire of Ward in 2013? Let us know in the comments below!
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