Pittsburgh Steelers fans clamoring for Ben Roethlisberger to take Matt Canada’s job as offensive coordinator dates back to (at least) his second season. And while it’s not a realistic desire, fellow future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers thinks Roethlisberger could pull it off.
“I think Ben could do it because he understands the game and he could call it in his sleep at the line of scrimmage,” Rodgers said on the October 3 Pat McAfee Show. “But it’s very rare that you see great players who come back and are able to be great coaches. I don’t know if it’s the time commitment or dealing with people that don’t see the game the same way.
There were tons of moments, especially later in his career, where Roethlisberger was fondly dubbed “Backyard Ben” for drawing up plays in the dirt and pulling off incredible comeback wins.
And Rodgers loved it.
“Ben, like me, was one of the few quarterbacks in the league who could just call their own plays. I always loved watching him in those situations,” he said. “They’d be behind by a couple scores maybe or in the two-minute drive knowing he’s calling it. Where everything now, with most teams, comes from the sideline.”
Rodgers also suggests fans chill out. “This is overreaction time… everybody needs to take a couple deep breaths. We’re four games into the season, there’s a lot of football left.”
As a neutral party, McAfee could be more openly critical.
“The Steelers offense has been terrible. 39 straight games of just bad stuff. If Ben Roethlisberger was to come call plays and they would have any offensive success at all, they’d put a statue up by next week. All those old steel mills, they’d open them back up to get enough steel to get a big ass Big Ben right in the middle of that.”
“Hey, Ben, if you see this. You know.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]