WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss against the Los Angeles Kings, a game in which head coach Scott Arniel described as a playoff style game.
Arniel and the rest of the coaching staff will be focused on the Colorado Avalanche. The puck will drop just after 6 CT and one hour later, Arniel’s Pittsburgh Steelers will be kicking off their quest at a seventh Super Bowl when they visit the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round.
“I am phoning the league about Saturday night asking if we can change the game time.” joked Arniel.
How does a guy from Kitchener become a Steelers fan?
“Obviously late 70’s, them winning (the Super Bowl) in ’76, then again in ’79 and ’80. But the big thing for me was they beat the Cowboys two times. All my buddies were Cowboys fans, and we were lucky enough in Kingston that we got Steelers games on tv,” said Arniel.
“But just the Steel Curtain (the Steelers defence), Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and L.C. Greenwood. Out on the playground I was mean Joe, I was Franco Harris or Terry Bradshaw. I had older brothers, and we played ball with all those guys. Everybody was somebody. There was always a Roger Staubach or Tony Dorsett and so I had to be the opposite of those guys.”
As Arniel got older the love for the Steelers grew when he got to see them play live. In 1986, his playing career took him to Buffalo where he said the Sabres players built a really good rapport with the Bills players.
“We did lots of things together. So, there I was, when the Bills were playing, it wasn’t the Steelers that would be a team I would be cheering for,” said Arniel.
“But at the end of the day, it was just black and gold. It was just in me, and I have got to see them play probably now 13 or 14 times in different venues across North America. I’m just part of that Steeler nation.”
One of the games that Arniel attended was a Steelers playoff game while he was an assistant coach with the New York Rangers.
“It was a one o'clock game. We didn't play until seven o'clock at night. So instead of, you know, hanging around the hotel, I slipped in and watched the game,” said Arniel.
“And they lost the game, so it didn't make for a good move, but at the end of the day, I've certainly had a chance to see them in different venues.”
When the Jets coach gets the opportunity to watch the Steelers on tv during his busy schedule, his choice is to watch alone.
“I have a tendency to yell at TV, but it's amazing how during hockey I can stand behind the bench in a 1-1 game and not do anything,” said Arniel.
“But when I watch these games, I'm just like, I'm barking and screaming and I'm so upset after a loss, but so excited after win. But it's just, it's a great release.”
Arniel has a great deal of respect for fellow head coach Mike Tomlin. Tomlin has coached the Steelers since 2007, Pittsburgh has had just three head coaches since 1969. Tomlin is the second-longest tenured head coach in Steelers history, behind only Chuck Noll. He signed a three-year contract extension in June 2024 to be the head coach through the 2027 season.
Well, the biggest thing is just that his buy in his love from his players towards him. You can tell that they'll go through walls for him. You hear about players saying that if they're going to go somewhere, players want to go to Pittsburgh and play for Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers, not only him, but their history,” said Arniel.
“I like Tomlin. I got to hear him at a Coaches Association conference. We had him as a speaker, to listen to him talk to kind of put in hockey terms, just how he goes about his business day to day. That's a lot of people you got to be in charge of, not only your 53-man roster, whatever it is, but all those coaches that are a part of that, certainly all the things that go on in that business. It's big business. And I just love the way he goes day to day, and he's pretty consistent with his message and how he approaches things.”
