With the distracting duo of Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell in the rear-view mirror, the primary focus of Steelers owner Art Rooney and general manager Kevin Colbert has turned to a mega-bucks, long-term extension for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. But before Big Ben gets his new contract, the Steelers brass needs to make a few things crystal clear to their QB, as a great debate has been taking place on Roethlisberger's leadership skills — or lack thereof.
Former Steelers such as Brown, Bell and Ryan Clark have been ripping Roethlisberger for calling out teammates on his radio show and being too close to management. Clark says Roethlisberger is "not a natural leader." His former top receiver Hines Ward added, "Ben is the leader of the team... I just think he has to take the initiative to kind of do more as a leader. Not just being able to call guys out on his radio show. Take them behind — treat them like, you know, we always say we're a band of brothers — like, pull me to the side, let me know what I can do to get better."
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Colbert and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin have defended Roethlisberger's leadership skills along with current Steelers receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster ("He is a true leader") and James Washington (saying the QB had a talk with him midseason that helped him relax). Others such as starting running back James Conner and former teammate James Harrison have also been in Roethlisberger's corner.
Roethlisberger has been a great, future Hall of Fame player as a two-time Super Bowl champ and six-time Pro Bowler over his 15-year career. He is coming off a season in which he led the NFL with 5,129 passing yards, a new team record, as was his 34 touchdown passes. Yet the Steelers missed the playoffs last season after four straight postseason appearances, and the Brown-Roethlisberger drama dominated the final week of the season when the star receiver went AWOL and blamed it in large part on being upset with his QB for criticizing him on the radio and in a team practice.
It's not the first time Roethlisberger has dealt with drama. Over the course of his career, he's been a lightning rod with some off-the-field controversy, including a dangerous motorcycle accident in 2006 and multiple allegations of sexual assault, leading to a 2010 suspension. He's never been shy in his public comments, whether on the subject of retirement a few years ago or his right to criticize teammates. He said late last season, "I think I've earned the right to be able to do that as a quarterback and captain."
I beg to differ with that attitude, and I venture to say Rooney, Colbert and Tomlin also would prefer a gentler Ben in terms of his public statements.
As a former GM and president, I would not be comfortable with my franchise quarterback publicly criticizing teammates. I also wouldn't want our quarterback's leadership ability questioned in any way, shape or form. Quarterbacks must be beyond reproach on this issue. And if there's an inkling of doubt, it must be cleared up moving forward. As the saying goes, perception can be reality.
Roethlisberger has one year remaining on his current deal signed in 2015. There's no doubt he is still an elite quarterback, and the Steelers should sign him to an extension. Yes, he's 37 years old, but he can play several more years at his current high level like Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning have done as they approached 40 and in some cases beyond.
Colbert said this week at the league meeting in Phoenix that contract negotiations with Roethlisberger and his agent are a priority and "ongoing." He added, "This is a significant deal for both sides. It's most likely Ben's last contract as an NFL player. It has to make sense for both sides."
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But if I'm Rooney and Colbert, before I sign an extension in the neighborhood of Aaron Rodgers (highest-paid NFL QB at $33.5 million per year in new money on his four-year extension), I'd have a heart-to-heart talk with Roethlisberger about the team's expectations leadership-wise.
First and foremost, I would want a commitment of no more negative public comments on teammates' abilities or any specific miscues. If Big Ben wants to do his weekly radio show, that's fine, as long as the only critique he puts forth is of his own performance or in very general terms when discussing the team.
I'd tell Roethlisberger that he needs to put himself in the shoes of his younger teammates and ask himself how he would have felt early in his career if star running back Jerome Bettis or Ward had thrown him under the bus after a loss.
I also would want no more retirement talk in the media, which is a distraction to everyone in the organization who then have to then deal with questions on the subject. It's a selfish act when a player initiates such speculation. When the day comes to retire, just do it. Don't make it an ongoing topic of discussion.
A trickier issue is for Roethlisberger to not give off the impression that he's above the other players. A quarterback is usually the highest-paid and publicized player on a team, but he still has to be perceived by teammates as "one of the guys." Brown and Bell both felt that Roethlisberger was "a management guy." That's a bad look for a player as he seeks to have others follow his lead.
A quarterback doesn't have to be loved by all his teammates. I saw plenty of QBs who were resented for their large salaries, endorsements and the extra attention. It helps to at least be likable, but it's essential for a QB to be respected in the locker room in order to be an effective leader.
Brady is as fiery a quarterback as we've seen. He'll get after a teammate in practice or on the sideline during a game, but he'll never talk about it afterward. He's been a tremendous leader for two decades and is the model for Big Ben to emulate.
So if and when the Steelers make Big Ben richer this year, he must return the favor by becoming an indisputable leader in order to put this debate to rest.
