First Call: Bruce Arians describes dismissal from Pittsburgh; Steelers linked to Bengals free agent

Wednesday’s “First Call” features an interesting free agency theory for the Steelers.

Also, Bill Cowher’s goodbye to Marty Schottenheimer. And admission from Bruce Arians about his dismissal from the Steelers. And a new job for Antwaan Randle El.

Plus, a former Pitt star earns a Super Bowl ring. And a trip to the operating room.

Ode to a friend

The bond between former Steelers coach Bill Cowher and former Browns coach Marty Schottenheimer was well known.

The product of Fort Cherry and Pitt hired Cowher onto his staff in Cleveland after coaching him as a player.

Schottenheimer died this week at the age of 77 after a battle with Alzheimer’s. He’s the eighth-winningest coach in NFL history, going 200-126-1 in 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington and San Diego Chargers.

Cowher sent out this tweet when he got the news.

Marty, you always said, "There's a gleam, men!" It's true, and that gleam is, and always was, YOU. Rest in peace Coach, love you. pic.twitter.com/PONiVZxm8f

— Bill Cowher (@CowherCBS) February 9, 2021

Cowher was the Browns special teams coach in 1985–86 and the secondary coach in 1987–88 before following Schottenheimer to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1989 as defensive coordinator. He then took the Steelers job in 1992.

Arians answers

As is often the case, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians had a very candid quote. This time during an interview with Sam Farmer of the L.A. Times in the wake of his team’s Super Bowl victory.

And this time, the former Steelers offensive coordinator was talking about his days in Pittsburgh.

Farmer asked Arians about his level of loyalty to players.

“I’ve been accused that that is a fault,” Arians said. “Got fired in Pittsburgh because I was too loyal to Ben [Roethlisberger]. If that’s a problem, you’ve got the problem. I don’t have a problem. I get very close to my quarterbacks.”

Call it loyalty. Or nobility. But when do those traits become stubbornness?

Perhaps when “loyalty” got that quarterback sacked 40 times in a season as was the case for “Big Ben” in 2011 because Arians always allowed Roethlisberger to throw as often as he wanted. And allowed him to hold onto the ball as long as he wanted.

Call Randy Fichtner right now and you may get a similar quote, just with different circumstances.

Free agent feature

ESPN.com is ramping up for NFL free agency. And so are the Steelers.

Well, to adjust for who they lose in free agency, anyway.

With the salary cap likely to have a significant drop thanks to the covid-19 impact on revenue and the Steelers’ current salary constraints, the franchise is far more likely to lose a lot more in free agency than it will gain.

That said, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler slots the Steelers as the most likely free agency destination for Cincinnati cornerback William Jackson III. Head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert reportedly wanted to draft Jackson back in 2017, but Cincy scooped him up first. The Steelers wound up with the since-deposed Artie Burns instead.

It’s Fowler’s theory that the Steelers might want Jackson since Joe Haden and Steven Nelson are free agents after 2021.

That’s fair. But I’d imagine whatever cap dollars the team may have left would go toward keeping either Cameron Sutton or Mike Hilton at potentially cheaper rates. Or even making sure they can retain Nelson and Haden for 2021 in the first place. Haden’s cap number is $15.5 million, and Nelson is at $14.4 million.

So that seems like a long shot to me. But Fowler’s other projections of Bud Dupree to the Tennessee Titans and JuJu Smith-Schuster to the Jets seem to make a lot more sense.

Fowler also projects Steelers tackle Alejandro Villanueva to the Los Angeles Chargers if Sam Tevi leaves via free agency.

“Villanueva would be an upgrade, and though his best fit might be Pittsburgh, the Steelers probably won’t be aggressive spenders. Villanueva is 32 but has only six seasons of tread as a starter, so he’s still fresh, and his 74.6 Pro Football Focus grade is solid.”

Keep in mind former Steelers offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett has an assistant’s job with the Chargers now.

Familiar surroundings

As a Pittsburgh Steeler, Antwaan Randle El certainly had at least one memorable moment at Detroit’s Ford Field.

No. 80: @Steelers WR Antwaan Randle El’s pass to Hines Ward in @SuperBowl XL (Feb. 5, 2006) #NFL100

?: NFL 100 Greatest Plays on @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/imEdUo8VSm

— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2019

Now he’ll be coaching there with the Lions, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. Detroit hired Randle El to be their new wide receivers coach after being an assistant on Arians’ staff in Tampa Bay.

Former Steelers quarterback Tee Martin landed a wide receivers coaching job with the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.

Post Super Bowl surgery

Pitt product Jordan Whitehead is about to get a ring on his finger.

And a surgery on his shoulder.

The Tampa Bay Bucs safety appeared on the ACC Network Tuesday and confirmed reports that he’ll need the procedure to repair a torn labrum that hampered him during the team’s Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Coming off the NFC championship when it happened, that first week of recovering I couldn’t really lift my arm up,” Whitehead said. “So I wasn’t really sure how close I was to being able to play. Everyday it got better. The week of the game I made a decision. I just had to get this thing right. Whatever. If it is at 80% or 90%, I’m going to be out there. My trainers did a great job pushing me.”

Whitehead had two tackles in the Super Bowl. The Central Valley grad had 74 tackles, two interceptions, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for the Bucs in the regular season. He had seven tackles and two forced fumbles in the playoffs.