From 2004 through 2006, current Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt was the Steelers offensive coordiantor, and Dick Lebeau was the Steelers defensive coordinator, a job that he continues to excel in to this day.

In those roles, the two men self-scouted each other pretty frequently. Whisenhunt and his offensive staff spent a lot of time  analyzing the Steelers defense saying “here’s the way I’d attack us…” with Lebeau and his defensive coaches mock game planning to defend the Steelers offense and then sharing the results with the offensive coaches.

The many hours these men and their staffs spent together probing the weaknesses of their respective units leaves them very familiar with their philosophies and tactics.  The element of surprise is a key Super Bowl weapon. With two weeks to prepare for this game, don’t be surprised if there both the Cardinals offense and the Steelers defense have some wrinkles up their sleeves that don’t appear on film.

The familiarity doesn’t exist only when the Cardinals have the ball.  Whisenhunt’s assistant head coach is Russ Grimm, the Steelers’ offensive line coach during those years.  Grimm and Whisenhunt coached many of the current Steelers offensive personnel.  And they doubtlessly have some well-formed opinions on where on the offensive line they want to attack and how to contain Pittsburgh’s offensive weapons.  We’ll be seeing quite a chess match in Tampa on Super Bowl Sunday.