Bradshaw criticizes Steelers for letting Haley go

Hall of Fame quarterback and NFL TV analyst Terry Bradshaw took issue with the Pittsburgh Steelers electing against renewing the contract of offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Haley was allowed to walk shortly after the Steelers dropped a 45-42 decision to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC divisional round of the playoffs on Jan. 14. Pittsburgh promoted wide receivers coach Randy Fichtner to offensive coordinator, while the 50-year-old Haley later assumed the same position with the Cleveland Browns.

"Haley was a great play-caller," the 69-year-old Bradshaw told the Sporting News. "They had great success together. For the life of me, I have not figured out why they fired Todd Haley. Didn't they put up 42 points against the Jaguars?"

For the record, Haley wasn't fired, but Bradshaw didn't stop there.

Bradshaw also took aim at a familiar target in Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, whom Bradshaw famously labeled as a "really a great cheerleader guy" in December 2016.

"It would seem to me more like the head coach has to recognize the people he's hiring to run that defense aren't doing the job," Bradshaw said. "Firing Haley made no sense. What did he do wrong? That's why he was hired right away by Cleveland."

Haley reportedly did have issues with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who elected to take the high road when commenting on his former offensive coordinator last week.

"We had a great run, very successful when he was here," Roethlisberger told NFL Network last Wednesday. "Just thankful for the opportunity I had to play with him and be a part of that offense, and now we have to face him twice a year. So we'll see how that goes."

Bradshaw quarterbacked the Steelers from 1970-83 and won four Super Bowl titles. He is considered one of the top players in Pittsburgh history.