The Super Bowl story lines had such potential.
Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin vs. offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger vs. his former coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt.
Whisenhunt, now Arizona’s head coach, vs. the Steelers, the team that didn’t promote him two years ago.
But the principal players Monday emphatically denied there was any beef at all, so much so that Super Bowl XLIII is shaping up to be quite the lovefest.
“At this point, it’s a nonissue,” Boldin said when asked if there were any lingering effects of his recent sideline spat with Haley. “We put it behind us as a team, and we are just preparing for the Super Bowl.”
So what about the rumored bitterness between Whisenhunt and Roethlisberger dating to when the two were together in Pittsburgh?
“People think we haven’t talked and that we have this huge rift between us, but unless they’ve checked our phone records, people don’t know how much we’ve talked,” Roethlisberger said. “I look forward to hopefully seeing him this week and getting to talk to him.”
The matchup between the Cardinals and Steelers had the potential to be awkward for Whisenhunt, who was a member of Bill Cowher’s staff in Pittsburgh from 2001-06, including the final three seasons as the offensive coordinator.
Plenty of people believed Whisenhunt would be hired when Cowher retired, but the Steelers instead went with Mike Tomlin. Whisenhunt was interviewed for the Pittsburgh job.
“I still have a great number of friends in that organization and a special place in my heart for them,” Whisenhunt said. “I’m excited for their success and looking forward to get an opportunity to play them on Sunday. I don’t have any bitter feelings or any sting of disappointment with that.”
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
