The Pittsburgh Steelers confirmed some news that has fans in a tizzy this Thursday morning. Here’s why the latest Steelers news has many feeling discouraged.
Since the conclusion of Black Monday following the end of the regular season, Pittsburgh Steelers fans were holding out hope that this organization could make some drastic and necessary changes that could help elevate this team to the next level — none of which was bigger than the looming decision with offensive coordinator, Matt Canada.
Sadly, many fans weren’t pleased with the latest report on Wednesday afternoon. The latest Steelers news has us feeling all kinds of emotions as we ponder how this can improve moving forward.
Steelers news
After a long wait, the Pittsburgh Steelers finally confirmed that Matt Canada will remain as the offensive coordinator in 2023. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was the first to break the story. Canada had one year remaining on his contract, but because of unspectacular results, many thought he would get fired early in the 2023 offseason.
Instead, the organization intends to move forward with the underwhelming OC. While they were better against a much easier schedule in the second half of the 2022 season, Pittsburgh’s offense managed just 18.1 points per game this past season. The Steelers are hoping for better results in 2023, but apparently, the organization was pleased with what they saw from Canada down the stretch.
More Steelers news
While Mike Tomlin and the front office apparently feel good enough about a Matt Canda return in 2023, the fans certainly don’t seem to agree. Many fans took to social media in the wake of the latest Steelers news to voice their displeasure with this decision.
NFL personnel dynamic is actually very simple. If you have a head coach schooled on defense, you better have an OC on a trajectory to be a head coach or with acumen to be one.
— Colin Dunlap (@colin_dunlap) January 18, 2023
Matt Canada is neither.
Very excited for Matt Canada to return for 2023, have another "meh" season, have his contract not renewed with the Steelers softly saying they've "parted ways" with him and for this process to start all over for 2024 while Kenny Pickett is another year older.
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) January 18, 2023
Yay.
Mike Tomlin loves tight, low scoring football games. He thinks they’re the ultimate test for his players.
— Josh Rowntree (@JRown32) January 18, 2023
Matt Canada’s offense, mixed with his defense, allows Tomlin to get just that.
That, more than anything, is why I’m not surprised Canada is back. #Steelers
I hate to say it. Steelers aren’t competing with team like the Chiefs and Bengals in the AFC with Matt Canada. Not saying they’ll be bad, but top tier… I just don’t see it. I really hope I’m wrong, they have the talent
— Smittywerbin (@smittywerbin1) January 18, 2023
Obviously, there were fans and members of the media defending Pittsburgh’s decision to keep him around, but for the most part, the base seemed to be pretty annoyed by the inability to make a change. We just need to hope we somehow find better results in 2023.
NFL news
After an inefficient season and a dismal showing in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs, it might be in the best interest of Tom Brady to retire during the 2023 offseason. However, if he wants to, it seems likely that he could stick around for just a bit longer — thanks largely to his reputation as the greatest to ever play.
Recently, the New York Post broke down the most likely landing spots for the 45-year-old quarterback. In addition to returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, three other teams were mentioned: the Patriots, Dolphins, and Raiders.
Though I can’t see him returning to New England and reuniting with Bill Belichick, the other two teams do make some sense — especially if Tua Tagovailoa’s career is in jeopardy due to his recent head injuries. The New York Post also mentioned that he could elect to go into broadcasting.