If it wasn’t clear by now, Pittsburgh Steelers second-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Entering the bye week, the Steelers have already put in two days worth of practices at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side. If the Steelers were going to make a change offensively with the coordinator, it would have happened by now.
That belief was solidified Tuesday as Canada spoke to reporters during his weekly media session. Asked directly by KDKA’s Bob Pompeani if he’s been given assurances his job is safe, Canada told reporters Tuesday that he’s just focused on working everyday and that he hasn’t been told anything, according to a tweet from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski.
“I’m just working every day. I feel pretty good about doing my job and getting this thing where we want it to be and getting it
fixed,” Canada stated to reporters Tuesday, according to the official transcript provided by the team. “That’s what I’m doing. I’m not privy to those. I commented last week, I’m not naïve, my job is I call the plays and if they don’t work, everybody can talk about why they don’t work. So that’s all I’m focusing on, our players, and we have to win some games.”
If Canada hasn’t been told anything regarding a change, he’s not going anywhere. That’s probably pretty painful to read for fans, but that seems to be the path forward for the Steelers.
According to the Associated Press’ Will Graves, Steelers quarterback coach Mike Sullivan added that, to his knowledge, there isn’t anything in the works regarding a change, as far as play calling, offensive design, and more offensively is concerned.
That can certainly be viewed as a stubborn move, but the Steelers won’t be influenced to make a change based on external pressure. Tomlin stated last week that he was not there yet regarding his feelings on needing to make a change offensively, and he backed up those words at the half in the 35-13 loss to the Eagles, stating that if the Steelers cleaned up the penalties that they’d be fine offensively.
While the penalties have been killer, the offense has been a disaster for 25 games now with Canada as the offensive coordinator, scoring over 21 points just five times. That’s not going to get it done in today’s NFL, even with much of the talent and money spent on the defensive side of the football in the Steel City.
Add in the fact that the Steelers are averaging just 15 points per game this season — last in the NFL — and have just 10 offensive touchdowns in eight games, not to mention the struggles rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett and second-year running back Najee Harris are going through, it makes some sense to make a change.
That doesn’t appear to be in the cards for the Steelers, right or wrong. Tomlin is backing his offensive coordinator. He’s made that bed, now he has to lay in it for what seems to be the rest of the 2022 season, which could be the first losing season of Tomlin’s career.
