Focused on the task at hand up in the Acrisure Stadium press box, perhaps it’s plausible Matt Canada truly didn’t hear fans chant for his firing following the Pittsburgh Steelers’ failed third-and-1 conversion late in Monday night’s win over the Cleveland Browns. But if he didn’t hear it then, he’s heard about it now. An offensive coordinator being the headline of a team is like a long snapper being the headline; it’s rarely a good thing.
Speaking with reporters, as he does every Thursday, Canada was asked about the fans’ vocal displeasure.
“I’ve been made aware of it,” he said via The Trib’s Chris Adamski. “Obviously I was working. We had a tough play.”
Canada then pivoted to again showing full confidence in the Steelers’ players to turn things around. Through two games, the offense has been a disjointed mess. That was evident on the play that led to the fans chanting, a read option by QB Kenny Pickett that didn’t fool the Browns. Pickett was tackled for a loss and the Steelers were forced to punt.
Here’s a look at the play. It has several elements, though it’s unclear if Pickett truly had the option to hand the ball off to WR Calvin Austin III or RB Najee Harris. Regardless, the Browns figured it out and LB Anthony Walker stopped Pickett almost immediately.
A “Fire Canada” chant rained down from Acrisure Stadium, so loud it was audibly heard on the ABC broadcast. It’s been the top question asked to players and coaches this week. Canada tried to be diplomatic and understand fan’s frustrations.
“Fans want us to win, they want us to play better, so there’s nothing wrong with their passion in those things,” Canada said. “Mike T says it all the time, we’re not running away from it. We expect to be better. We’re going to be better. I firmly believe that. So until we do that, obviously there’s gonna be frustration. Most frustration is with our guys because we’re not happy with what we’re putting on tape and what we’re putting on the field.”
Being unhappy with the output has been a recurring theme under Canada. Since being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021, the Steelers simply haven’t put points on the board. In 2021, they ranked 21st, in 2022 they fell to 26th, and they sit 26th through two games of the 2023 season. Even that lowly latter number is deceiving, buoyed by two defensive scores that match the number of touchdowns the offense has this year. Remove those and the offense is responsible for 9.5 points per game.
As we pointed out yesterday, nearly every conceivable measure of the offense shows the Steelers as one of the league’s worst. On a per-drive basis, they rank last in every significant category except for yards, where they are 31st.
For Canada, it’s another presser saying the same old thing. In fairness, there’s not much else to say. And it really doesn’t matter what his or the team’s words are. This is a put up-or-shut up year for the Steelers’ offense, a unit that’s expected to be far better than what it is. If it doesn’t turn around, the fans won’t just be chanting fire Canada. The Steelers will actually do it.
