The Arizona Cardinals as we know in recent years have become Pittsburgh West. This latest trend started when the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to hire Mike Tomlin as their head coach instead of Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm. Whisenhunt was then hired as the Arizona Cardinals head coach, and he hired Grimm on as his line coach and assistant head coach. From there, the Cardinals have been known to sign former Steelers players such as Joey Porter, Clark Haggans, Nick Eason, Bryant McFadden, William Gay, Rashard Mendenhall and so on.
However, the Cardinals and Steelers have ties that date back to 1944. Card-Pitt was the name for the team created by the temporary merger of two National Football League teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals, during the 1944 season. That season, Card-Pitt finished with a 0–10 record in the Western Division. Sixty-five years later, the Steelers, led by Mike Tomlin, beat the Cardinals, led by Ken Whisenhunt, in Super Bowl XLIII.
Ben Roethlisberger has already had a Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, as he could retire tomorrow having surpassed so many expectations from his critics including Terry Bradshaw. That being said, don’t be surprised if Roethlisberger goes West if the next couple seasons go south, especially with Bruce Arians — a close friend of Rothelisberger — now the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Roethlisberger, as we know, hasn’t had the best relationship with current offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Roethlisberger campaigned publicly for Arians job security after the 2009 season, and didn’t take the news well when Arians was released after the 2011 season.
There are other factors as to why Roethlisberger would leave Pittsburgh. He’s had his ups-and-downs in the city, and while it may not play a major factor into him moving, he could look for a fresh start. After all, in 2006, Roethlisberger was in a nearly fatal motorcycle accident, and in 2008, Roethlisberger was accused of sexual assault in Lake Tahoe and in Milledgeville, Ga., in 2010. There were no charges filed in either allegation due to lack of evidence. After the 2010 incident, Roethlisberger was suspended for the first four games of the season under the NFL’s personal conduct policy. This week, he collected some new unwanted attention, as he was voted the fourth-most-disliked played in the National Football League joining an astute list which included Michael Vick, Ndamukong Suh and Mark Sanchez.
Carson Palmer is the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, but will not be the starting quarterback next year for the, as the one year experiment to this point has failed. The Cardinals essentially will be hitting refresh at quarterback next season for the fifth straight year. In 2011, the Cincinnati Bengals traded Carson Palmer to the Oakland Raiders and received a first and second round pick. Roethlisberger, without question, would get the same type of compensation if not more in return for the Steelers.
In my opinion, Roethlisberger will not retire as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Sooner or later, he’ll go out West.
