Many Pittsburgh Steelers fans were greeted with good news on Tuesday morning. The team’s offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, was officially fired after Week 11. The move comes after 2.5 seasons of poor offensive play and poor schemes that just didn’t allow Pittsburgh to succeed. Many fans had been calling for the firing of the offensive coordinator earlier in the season, but the team wanted to try and get some kinks worked out. However, those changes did not appear to be enough in a troubling Week 11 loss to the Browns. Canada’s firing leaves the Steelers with several questions about how their offense will run the rest of the year.
With Matt Canada Fired, How Will the Pittsburgh Steelers Roll on Offense Now?
What Led to Canada’s Firing?
Matt Canada was hired to be the Steelers’ offensive coordinator before the 2021 season. He worked a full year with Ben Roethlisberger before working with Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett for the last two years. In that span, the Steelers’ offense was well below average marks and even in the bottom four at points. The 2021 offense, led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, was ranked 23rd in the NFL while boasting an average passing offense (15th). The Steelers actually declined in offensive production over the last two years, again placing in the bottom ten in the rankings.
A 13-10 slough of a loss to Cleveland in Week 11 made the decision a whole lot easier. The team’s rushing attack worked well against the stout Browns defense, but the passing game just wasn’t there. Kenny Pickett had just 106 yards (77 after sacks) and the team couldn’t even get a couple of first downs in crunchtime of an important divisional game. The team is ranked 28th overall in offense with the second-worst passing offense in the NFL. Apparently, the Steelers have had enough of Canada and will let him go in the hopes that it might create an offensive spark.
Who Will Take Charge of the Offense?
Now that Matt Canada is gone, the Steelers will be using a coordinator-by-committee. The team will give quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan and runningbacks coach Eddie Faulkner the co-duties. Faulkner will take over as the offensive coordinator, but Sullivan will be calling the plays. The team’s other offensive assistants are expected to have a decent amount of influence as well. It will be interesting to see if the offense takes a step forward or if firing Canada didn’t mean anything.
Will the Offense Be Improved, and Will Kenny Pickett Be Any Better?
The Three Biggest Problems
There were three main problems with the Matt Canada-led offense. Those were poor scheming, poor play-calling, and predictability. A lot of the offensive concepts just didn’t make sense at times, and it was a result of plenty of poor scheming/play design. The team reluctantly used the middle of the field and was never a balanced group in terms of scheming. Also, plenty of the play calls just didn’t make sense or were poorly timed. There were too many screens on second or third and longs that ended in nothing or even more yards lost. And finally, many opposing defenders also called out the offense for being too predictable. Things just seemed repetitive and easy to pick up, making it easier on defenses to take risks on plays.
With Canada gone, it’s hard to tell just how much things will change. One would expect a better scheme and some better playcalling, but will that fix all of the issues?
Will Kenny Pickett Take a Step Forward or Backward?
It was incredibly hard to judge and evaluate Kenny Pickett in his first two seasons and also with the troubled Canada at the helm. But there’s a crucial stretch in Pickett’s career coming up now. Can he produce at the NFL level is going to be an important question for the future of the Steelers. We know Pickett’s been held back a bit by coaching, but it’s hard to tell how much until he plays more without Canada. He never made that coveted year two jump but perhaps with a change, things could turn for the better.
Pickett has 13 wins, 13 touchdown passes, and 13 interceptions in his career. The win numbers are fine, but watching him play recently shows that the passing talent just hasn’t been there. He’s missed plenty of reads and is often too dancy and spinny in the pocket. The Steelers have an important stretch in the season coming up and things will have to be better for the 6-4 Steelers to make the playoffs. But with one problem in Canada being eradicated, just how much will that fix this troubled Pittsburgh offense?
Main Photo: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
