Ray Fittipaldo

Ray just said he's not doing any kind of parting news conference or parting really, I guess, of any sort with Pittsburgh.

And that's parting with tradition of, even though there may have been some tension and acrimony with Cowher's departure, it was known for a long time that he wanted a contract extension going into that 2006 season and didn't get the money he wanted.

So again, who knows what the real story was there in the end.

But still, when you spend 15 years, in this case, 19 years, in Noel's case, however many it was, and you leave and it's the Steelers and the family atmosphere that they foster, how much of it is real?

How much of it is a front?

I don't know.

But you put on the front when you need to.

And if you're saying goodbye after that long, you say goodbye, right?

And he's not doing it.

And that strikes me as strange that he said, I'm gone 16 hours after the final gun and is never going to be seen again until some reunion years from now.

There's no goodbye to Pittsburgh.

That just seems odd.

And really, it probably happened the other day when Art came out and talked.

That's how Cowers went.

I fully anticipated that.

I thought Tomlin would be...

You put a happy face on everything at the end.

There's no happy face here at the end.

I'm sorry.

I don't know what's happening here, but there's no happy face.