Matt Canada is officially out as the Steelers offensive coordinator after two and a half years of failed offensive schemes. He was a scapegoat for the offensive woes that have faced the black and gold ever since he was promoted from the quarterbacks coach to the top offensive play caller. Many gave him plenty of excuses as to why his offense wasn't working, but those fell apart this week.
My first thought was Canada had an old Hall of Fame quarterback who would not play in his system. Then it was that he had a rookie quarterback that still had to grow into his role. It seems none were true, but not everything should fall on Canada's shoulders. The Steelers' offense has a lot of problems right now, and they hope moving on from Canada will show some sort of improvement.
Matt Canada is now fired and that takes away the scapegoat of the Steelers problems
Now that Canada is gone, there are two positional coaches who will take over a variety of roles that the vacancy leaves behind. Eddie Faulkner, the team's running backs coach will be the interim offensive coordinator. Mike Sullivan, the club's quarterbacks coach, will gain the play-calling duties. It will be a group effort by this staff moving forward.
Canada gained most of the heat when it came to the poor offensive outcomes for the team over the past two and a half years. It was an ugly thing to behold, but when something that bad occurs one man cannot be the sole reason behind it. There are three heads to this monster when it comes to why this offense has gone floppy.
Don't get it twisted, Matt Canada was one of the worst offensive coordinators that the NFL has ever seen. He deserved to be fired long ago, but he is not the only problem. One head is gone from the problems on offense for Pittsburgh. Two remain and they could be the next scapegoats when the offense struggles for the remainder of the season.
Kenny Pickett will now have all the pressure on him
For one reason or another, fans refuse to put blame on Kenny Pickett as of now. It seems like the tide is changing in that regard as the second-year quarterback has shown signs of regression. It looks like Pittsburgh might be in panic mode after losing to the Browns and only producing 10 points in the process. It is a mess in the Steel City right now.
Mike Tomlin seems to be expressing his frustrations towards Pickett and the offensive issues. It is something that Tomlin has refused to focus on much since they were winning. The loss against Cleveland seems to have changed a lot of things in that locker room. Pickett will have the remaining seven games of the season to show what he's got.
No matter how poor an offensive coordinator is, there will always be a quarterback who can still make routine plays and add points on the board. Pickett has missed easy throws and it seems like his career is falling apart currently. Maybe a change at the play caller spot can turn things around, or maybe it will make things worse.
Will Pickett be the guy that the Steelers thought they were getting at the University of Pittsburgh? Or will he be a bust like he seems to be? That will be up to this young quarterback to figure out. If he plays much better and helps lead the Steelers to the playoffs, then he will have saved his job. If he stays on his current trajectory or worse, then his starting job will come into question.
Mike Tomlin is the continuing problem as to why the Steelers can't produce
Everything falls at the feet of the head coach and general manager when it comes to wins and losses. Mike Tomlin deserves a lot of the blame here too. It seems like things are different within the Steelers organization for now. Tomlin has commanded a lot of respect around the league for his leadership qualities, but there seems to be some internal struggle going on.
Tomlin decided to keep Canada around going into this season despite two years of terrible offensive outcomes before that. He was afraid of messing with Pickett's development, but that might have been fast-forwarded by retaining Canada. Tomlin mentions that he takes responsibility, but does he really? That thought process does not seem to carry much weight right now.
The black and gold routinely shoot to make the playoffs or at least break even with their record. It is admirable to stay consistent with a poor roster each year, but this franchise has prided itself on getting into playoff runs and potential Super Bowl appearances. The team has not won a playoff game since 2017 and has not gotten to the Super Bowl since 2011.
If things continue this trend, it’s possible that Tomlin could lose his locker room and see his job get in jeopardy. Sometimes the Steelers' job becomes too comfortable with the certain type of job security that comes with it. His biggest task yet will be the conclusion of this season as he tries to find a possible way to sneak into the playoffs with a jumbled offensive group.