When I first read the news, I thought Matt Canada was getting fired. Or about to. Or something negative. Sunday morning, NFL insider Jordan Schultz tweeting, “The Steelers are moving OC Matt Canada to…” Legitimately, my heart skipped a beat.
And then I read the rest. “…moving OC Matt Canada to a more prominent role working with QB Kenny Pickett.” Definitely not what I expected, definitely not what fans wanted to hear.
It seems the goal is to get him as close with Pickett as possible. Schultz went on to say Canada will be working with Pickett every day, implying though not outright stating that Canada will essentially become the team’s quarterbacks coach in addition to the play caller. He was initially hired as the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2020 and held that dual role throughout his college coaching career.
Ostensibly, it’s a last gasp to try to make Canada work, going all-in and telling him he’s either going to sink or swim. It sounds counterintuitive considering how things are going, how much people want him fired, but if he’s going to be the coordinator the rest of the year, you might as well give it a shot. At that level, I can understand it.
But if the team truly wants to get Canada close to Pickett, there’s one obvious thing missing. On gameday, get Canada out of the booth and on the sidelines. I know fans don’t want him working the sideline, they want him working at a Wendy’s, but for now, he is the coordinator. And you have to figure out what’s best for him and for the team.
There are pros and cons to being in the booth and being on the field. In the booth, you have more space to work, it’s a little calmer and easier to communicate, and you have the bird’s eye view during the play. On the field, you have quicker and easier communication to all your players, especially your quarterback, and just have a better feel for the game. The verbal and non-verbal cues of working with your guys, the little notes or quick asides the booth doesn’t afford, true boots on the ground. The downside? A little more chaos and a lot more hearing “Matt Canada, you suck!” from the first row every eight seconds.
Being in the booth isn’t inherently a bad thing. The reasons are understandable, and it doesn’t make or break a coordinator. I only write this because if Pittsburgh’s goal is to put Canada in Pickett’s back pocket, then having him 1,000 feet in the air on gameday clearly runs counter to it. You can’t say you want him next to Pickett every day of practice and then keep the two apart on gameday. That just doesn’t make sense.
In fairness, things were better in Sunday night’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Canada called a better game, he made good decisions in key moments, and the offense had its best outing of the season. A low bar, no doubt, but progress just the same. Still, it doesn’t change the equation or the team’s apparent move. There’s still plenty of work to be done and had the Raiders capitalized on a couple of plays, CB Marcus Peters literally dropped a walk-in pick-six, today’s conversation would be different.
It’s no guarantee to cure all of the Steelers’ ills. Nothing is. But if you’re exploring all options, and the Steelers clearly are, this must be on the table.
