Gerry Dulac from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the Steelers’ offense from last season a complete mess on 105.7 The Fan. Most notably about what Dulac mentions is that he states players were upset on offense. The transition under offensive coordinator Matt Canada was clearly less than stellar.
“Players were upset with formations that were being called, which were out of sync with everything else that was going on,” Dulac told the show. “It was somewhat chaotic. So to me, that’s the biggest thing that has to change.”
Naturally, there were growing pains, and the team’s performance experienced a drop off in performance. That was evident in the Steelers’ passing offense; the numbers clearly show that with regard to passing touchdowns in particular. After just one season, it appears Steelers fans were more than happy to see Canada relieved of his duties. However, Mike Tomlin expressed optimism when speaking about his offensive coordinator back in January.
Dulac pointed out that even if the Steelers make changes to the roster, keeping Canada in his current role might cancel that out.
“They can bring in different quarterbacks, bring in some new offensive linemen, and a new offensive line coach but if it’s not better orchestrated from the top, they’re gonna have some more problems.”
Whether you care for what Dulac says or not, he makes a solid point. It does start at the top. What good will the Steelers’ changes be if said players aren’t placed in a position to succeed? The transition last season was a rough one, but a new offensive coordinator struggling in Year 1 isn’t unheard of either. Pittsburgh’s offense was far from successful last year, though a change in quarterback may open up Canada’s playbook and the team’s ability to throw downfield.
As far as Canada’s prospects moving forward, Dulac was quite blunt.
“It’s a big question mark because Canada has to prove he can be an offensive coordinator in the NFL and so far, we haven’t seen it.”
At this point, Steelers fans have no choice but to be patient and wait and see what develops this season. Be that as it may, all eyes will be on Canada and whether he can get the Steelers offense going with Mitch Trubisky.
