When the Pittsburgh Steelers entered their early Week 6 bye, they were coming off a win against the Baltimore Ravens and sat on a 3-2 record. As bad as the offense was in the early going, Mike Tomlin was not about to make changes to his coaching staff -- the most noteworthy being his unwillingness to replace underwhelming offensive coordinator, Matt Canada.
Because the Steelers did not replace him during the bye week, it seemed very unlikely that Pittsburgh would make any significant in-season changes to their coaching staff this year. Most of us assumed that Tomlin would try to weather the storm until the start of the 2024 offseason when he began the search for a new OC. However, we were shocked to learn that the move all fans have been screaming for has finally come true.
On the morning of November 21st, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network confirmed that Matt Canada had officially been fired. Effective immediately, he is no longer the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The #Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada. pic.twitter.com/t2QhI7L9Ba
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 21, 2023
Along with this breaking news, the official Pittsburgh Steelers Twitter (X) account released a statement from head coach, Mike Tomlin regarding the decision to part ways with Canada during the middle of the season.
Statement from Coach Mike Tomlin: pic.twitter.com/kitcpLnyqF
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 21, 2023
Most of us would agree that this firing was long overdue. While Pittsburgh may have had a winning record with Canada at the helm, it doesn't mean that he was the cause. Canada was the former quarterback coach of the Steelers, but since being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021, the offense has failed to muster up big performances -- particularly through the air.
Early on, fans blamed the lack of success and creativity on 39-year-old Ben Roethlisberger (who was still the quarterback at the time). From there, excuses were made when a rookie Kenny Pickett also looked bad in Canada's offense in 2021.
Now we were in Year 3 of Matt Canada, and Pittsburgh's offense has hit rock bottom. Canada has scored progressively fewer points per game in each season leading up to 2023. This year, the Steelers have managed a dismal 16.6 points per content. However, if you exclude defensive touchdowns from Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt (as well as a safety by the special teams) the Steelers have scored just 15.0 offensive points through the first 10 games of the season.
This firing couldn't have come soon enough. It's hard to say what the answer is for the Steelers, who the interim offensive coordinator will be, or if Kenny Pickett will improve, but Matt Canada is now gone. It was for the best.
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