PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers and Todd Haley had a nice run together. Haley served as the team’s offensive coordinator for six seasons between 2012 and 2018. His last season with the team was a difficult one, but most have fond memories of his run with the Steelers.

Not everyone is a fan of Haley, though. Recently, Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens appeared on the Bubba Dub podcast hosted by Jerry Bubba. During their chat, Owens dished on some coaches he didn’t like working with, naming Todd Haley specifically.

“You have people who don’t even have a lot of experience and they jump up to offensive coordinators,” he said. “Sometimes, for some people, you gradually work your way up. Some people do, some people don’t, because of relationships.”

Owens said he experienced that first-hand when he worked with Haley. Haley was the wide receiver coach for the Dallas Cowboys from 2004 to 2006, where he coached Owens. According to the Hall of Famer, it wasn’t Haley’s work or credentials that earned him the role.

“There was a guy, Todd Haley, that I got coached by in Dallas,” he said. “And then he went on to Pittsburgh, he only got those jobs because of his dad. He wasn’t the best receiving coach I ever had, but he got that job.”

It’s an interesting point of view that Owens has. In their lone season of working together with the Cowboys, he was incredibly productive. He hauled in 85 receptions for 1,180 yards and a league-leading 13 receiving touchdowns.

To Owens’ credit, Todd Haley’s lineage did play a huge part in his NFL emergence. Haley’s father, Dick Haley, had an illustrious playing and executive career in the NFL. He most notably served as the Steelers’ director of player personnel between 1971 and 1990, helping to bring four Super Bowl titles to the organization in the 70’s.

Because of his father’s reputation and experience, it paved the way for Todd to get his first opportunities. His first NFL job was with the New York Jets in 1995, where he was hired as assistant in the scouting department.

The person who hired him? His father, Dick Haley, who was working as the Jets’ director of player personnel at the time.

From there, Haley had to bust his tail to work up the ladder. He had two stops as a wide receiving coach before getting his first offensive coordinator job with the Arizona Cardinals.

It was there that Todd Haley earned his reputation as an offensively gifted coach. The Cardinals offense was explosive during his two year tenure, including a spectacular run to Super Bowl 43.

He parlayed that into his first head coaching job with the Kansas City Chiefs. He worked there for three seasons before being fired, and that’s when the Steelers brought Haley in to assist Ben Roethlisberger and the team’s offense. Under his watch, the Steelers were an exciting offense. Nearly six years later, the team is still struggling to find that offensive output again.

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