Surely, coach Bill Cowher, who sees his chance of returning to the Super Bowl considerably less without O'Donnell, wasn't another. Surely, GM Tom Donahoe, who sees almost no one on the open market available to replace O'Donnell, wasn't a third and neither was Chan Gailey, the offensive coordinator whose job suddenly has become 10 times more challenging. You can only figure that those who were laughing about O'Donnell's departure don't have a good grasp on the game. Much has been written about the New York media and what it does to athletes. That's wildly overrated.
Many athletes thrive in the spotlight New York provides.
Others have the ability to hide from that same spotlight. Phil Simms, Jeff Hosteler and Boomer Esiason all were quarterbacks in New York. All seem reasonably in tact of their senses and their sense of self worth. They handled it. So can O'Donnell.