Opposing coaches jockey for supremacy

By Mike Prisuta, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Wednesday, January 28, 2009


Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau has a history with Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt.
Getty Images


TAMPA, Fla. — Wednesdays used to be almost as memorable on the South Side as Sundays on the North Side.

Wednesday was the day the Steelers practiced third downs, the first-team offense against the first-team defense, in a best-of-five showdown for platoon supremacy.

And when coordinator Dick LeBeau's defense engaged coordinator Ken Whisenhunt's offense, it got competitive.

"It was like playing in a game," Steelers guard Kendall Simmons said. "It was so competitive we actually got (upset) if we lost.

"It turned into a game sometimes, especially when we had pads on."

It was that intense, that heated, that meaningful, even if it was just another practice.

LeBeau and Whisenhunt, now the coach of the Arizona Cardinals, will compete in a similar fashion on third-and-whatever this Sunday in Tampa, Fla.

This time, Super Bowl XLIII hangs in the balance.

Whisenhunt no longer calls plays in Arizona; that responsibility has been entrusted to offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

But as was the case when Whisenhunt worked for the Steelers, game plans are compiled through a collective staff effort.

And the plays the Cardinals run are well-executed, in part, because of the intensity and attitude Whisenhunt has instilled in Arizona's practices.

Whisenhunt did so by re-creating the combative environment of the Steelers' Wednesday third-down period.

"When we first started practicing in the spring (of 2007), the tempo was a little slower than we wanted it and what it was in Pittsburgh," said Cardinals defensive assistant Matt Raich, an offensive assistant with the Steelers during Whisenhunt's tenure as offensive coordinator (2004-06). "We started to do that in Arizona, 'third-down competitive.' And we started saying that whoever won, the other side had to run extra gassers (post-practice conditioning).

"That made them work a little bit harder and the tempo started to get faster."


Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt has a history with Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.
Getty Images


The Steelers still conduct a third-down period on Wednesdays, but the weekly exercise has become quieter if no less competitive.

Players such as Jerome Bettis and Verron Haynes on offense and Joey Porter and Clark Haggans on defense, once among the Steelers' most established trash-talkers, have moved on.

So has former coach Bill Cowher, who served as the arbiter of disputes and sometimes as the instigator of them during the much-anticipated third-down periods.

"The fire isn't exactly there," Simmons said.

Cowher would stoke it by rendering verdicts on whether a catch was made inbounds or a ball-carrier had been touched down before achieving a first down.

"When you have us all out there competing against each other and it's just us-against-them and it's not scripted, you're going to see the competitive nature come out in everybody," Steelers linebacker James Farrior said.

It's remarkable, in retrospect, how often it came down to two "wins" for the offense, two for the defense and one winner-take-all final snap.

"Coach Cowher kept track of that all the time," LeBeau said, "so whoever Bill was mad at that particular day, the other guy won."

Offensive coaches working with Whisenhunt included Russ Grimm (assistant head coach/offensive line) and Bruce Arians (wide receivers).

Grimm now has the same titles in Arizona.

Arians succeeded Whisenhunt as the Steelers' offensive coordinator.

"Whisenhunt's a real fiery guy, him, Russ and B.A., too," Steelers linebacker Larry Foote said. "So that was a fired-up group.

"It took all those guys to match up against Dick LeBeau."

Or did it?

"Coach Cowher was a defensive coach," Whisenhunt said. "He and Coach LeBeau were double-teaming us.

"That competition fostered a lot of chemistry amongst the staff and the players, and it's something that we've used in Arizona."

Added Simmons, who is on injured reserve and will miss the "rematch" in Super Bowl XLIII: "They actually threw stuff at us we'd never seen before. I'm kinda excited to see how this whole thing's gonna unfold."