Ex-Steelers HC shares how Ben Roethlisberger went rogue on play calls

Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher had tremendous success with Ben Roethlisberger as his quarterback, but the two sometimes dealt with what Cowher thought were “selective hearing” issues.

During a recent interview on The Dan Patrick Show, Cowher admitted that Big Ben would occasionally go rogue and call his own plays. Cowher initially attributed it to headset problems but later determined Roethlisberger was just doing his own thing.

“I kept thinking we’re having problems with our communication, he would go ‘Coach, there’s no problem, I can hear everything in this helmet,’ I would go, ok, let me look at the second alternative here, maybe it was selective hearing,” Cowher recalled.

Cowher added that Roethlisberger was often given multiple options for different plays but sometimes just ignored them. He’d go completely off-script and against the gameplan but ultimately, you can’t argue with the results.

Roethlisberger recorded a 29-11 record with Cowher as his head coach and defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. He was also named the 2004 AP Rookie of the Year.

The success continued after Cowher’s retirement as Roethlisberger compiled a career regular season record of 165-81-1 and won a second Super Bowl in 2009. He will almost assuredly be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — selective hearing and all — when he becomes eligible in 2027.