LATROBE, Pa. -- Randy Fichtner has a great understanding of Ben Parker's words of wisdom to his nephew Peter Parker in the "Spider-Man" movies. With great power comes great responsibility.
Fichtner has seen his power on the Steelers' coaching staff rise greatly this season when he added the title of offensive coordinator before his name, replacing Todd Haley. And he knows this is an offense he doesn't want to mess up.
After all, it ranked third in total yards, eighth in points scored per game. It didn't need a total overhaul, especially with pretty much everyone back from a year ago.
So instead of reinventing the wheel, Fichtner spent the offseason fine-tuning some of the things the Steelers do in the hopes of making the whole thing better. But, as he told me when I spoke with him at the Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College, there will be some changes in the offense that people might not recognize immediately.
"I don’t know, subtly probably a lot," Fichtner said when I asked him about those changes. "There were subtle little things, pet peeves of mine and the staff. Anytime you’re new or fresh, you’ve got a chance to regurgitate it one more time. We all have to agree on it. We’re all in this together and if we’re feeling it, then it’s good. There’s a lot of things Ben Roethlisberger does that he’s been doing for a lot of years, whether it’s a (Bruce Arians) play or a Todd Haley playbook or a Randy Fichtner playbook. I don’t know that there’s too much brand new football that’s never been thought of."
But you can always streamline things in an attempt to make them better. And that's what Fichtner, who has never been a coordinator at the professional level, is working on. He's had some good people from whom to formulate his plan, from Arians, who was here when Fichtner joined Mike Tomlin's staff as receivers coach in 2007, to Haley, under whom Fichtner served as quarterbacks coach.
Fichtner's goal is a lofty one. But he feels the goals have to be set high.
"We’ve got to do things right. If we do things fundamentally sound, then we all have a chance," Fichtner said. "If one guy makes a mistake, if one guy is not on the same page, then we’re probably not functioning. It’s a little different than the defense, where one guy can make a mistake and 10 others can cover up for it. Generally, that’s not the case on offense, so we’ll pride ourselves on doing things as close to perfection — we won’t be perfect, but that’s what we’re intending to do — and we’re going get all the guys evaluated and put them in the right position so we can have the best chance to win, positions where we can score."
Perfection. It's most certainly an unattainable goal. But goals do need to be set high.
And for an offense with a future Hall of Fame quarterback and 15-year-veteran in Ben Roethlisberger, the best receiver in football in Antonio Brown, a veteran offensive line with multiple Pro Bowl players, as well as All-Pro running back Le'Veon Bell — when he finally reports and signs his franchise tender — you have to aim high.
Roethlisberger has always pushed to run more no-huddle plays. Fichtner said that could happen this year. He wants the offense to play at a faster pace. He wants Roethlisberger at the line of scrimmage quicker to give him an opportunity to survey the defense a little longer. He wants to take advantage of a quarterback with 15 years of experience under his belt.
"No doubt. It’s been effective," Fichtner said of the no-huddle. "Last year, we were about 22 percent, minus or plus what you do in the two-minute. Then it’s probably 25 percent max every year. Shoot, you know that he’s been here 15 years. If you’re going to give something to somebody and not pull back, it would be him now. You’re always going to be subject to conditions (such as) atmosphere, on the road, not on the road, situations of who we’re playing with, who’s available at that time. There are going to be moments where it won’t be the best thing to do. Generally, you’ll have both. He’ll come and say, ‘Let’s do a couple of series.’"
Roethlisberger bought in. The two talked in the offseason about the 36-year-old coming to training camp in better shape than in the past.
In fact, they both wanted to do so.
"I was trying to lose, myself, and I didn’t do it quite as good as he did," Fichtner joked. "He’s been working awfully hard and that’s something he made his mind up to do. Father Time has a way of getting to you. For him, he’s put himself in a great position to stay fresh. Maybe he’ll want to take a few more extra reps. Maybe he’ll want to take some time with the young guys. He threw a couple of errant balls (Sunday). When you take a day off, your timing is affected. The day you come back, you might not be as sharp. He’s working right now, taking a few extra reps after practice.
"I think everything feels better for him. He’s been really good with the young guys, from the meeting rooms to on the grass and he’s pushing a challenge to us and his team every day to win each drill, be competitive on every play, whether it’s during the walkthrough or in a team drill. I’ve been pleased with that situation."
Fichtner isn't sure just yet whether he'll call plays from the sideline or the coaching booth. He said he called games from the booth when he was offensive coordinator in college at Memphis and Arkansas State. But he might try it both ways in the Steelers' preseason games to see which works better. He also called the Pro Bowl, when he and the rest of the Steelers' staff coached the AFC squad, from the booth. And Tomlin and Haley let him call a preseason game in each of the past few seasons.
Fichtner, like many play callers, wants to feel the game, something you can't get from up above.
"I may take one of the games in the preseason (in the booth) to see how that communication will be," he said. "I don’t know. I’m still thinking about it. In college, I spent a lot of time up; I’ve been down, at the Pro Bowl.
"Just maybe you can’t feel the game, the speed, the flow. I get it. Todd did it last year. Maybe it’s a little calmer. Maybe you see things. Maybe in the circumstances you can get just what you want. It feels like you might get a little calmer situation. But then again, sometimes that’s not always the best, either. We’ve got to get that rhythm."
Because he doesn't want to mess up a good thing, not with so much riding on what the offense does.
But you wouldn't know it from his day-to-day demeanor, at least not according to those closest to him.
"I think that is one of the things you have to credit Randy with is not changing much, in terms of he is not going to change who he is," Roethlisberger said. "He is not going to change his approach to the game. he’s not going to change and be a different person. Randy is Randy. Those of you that have been around him as long as me know the passion he brings to the game is infectious and it’s fun and everyone kind of feeds off it so we don’t want Randy to change. We want him to just continue to be the person and the coach that he has been."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Steelers training camp, Latrobe, Pa., July 30, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS