Stephen A. Smith is an entertainer. Monday, he put on a show. Appearing on ESPN’s First Take, Smith, a lifeling Steelers’ fan, continued to question why the Pittsburgh Steelers are keeping OC Matt Canada. Very, very loudly.
“Why does he have a job?! Why is he the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers?” Smith yelled out to Ryan Clark and Shannon Sharpe.
His anger stemmed from not just the Steelers’ poor performances, of which there was another one in Sunday’s 30-6 loss, but from Canada’s apparent comments to the CBS crew that Pittsburgh isn’t a team built to come from behind. That much may be true but they’re also the slowest starting offense in football, leaving them with little identity or path to win.
“This man should be done today,” Smith said under his breath as Sharpe began to respond.
Pittsburgh’s offense has been among the worst in football this season. Through their first four games, they rank 30th in points per drive, 30th in yards per drive, 32nd in plays per drive, and 32nd in average time of possession. QB Kenny Pickett has struggled and regressed while the running game, the best part of the offense, is only averaging 3.6 yards per carry. The horrendous numbers go on and on, something we’ll likely dedicate a separate post to in the coming days.
“It’s okay to fire people who are unproductive,” Smith went on. “It’s not nice. It’s not pleasant. You shouldn’t have joy in your soul over it. But it is okay to fire people who don’t produce.”
It’s a call Smith has made multiple times this season, more confounded each time he expresses his frustration.
Pittsburgh has a long history of not firing coaches in-season. The previous two offensive coordinators, Randy Fichtner and Todd Haley, were “parted ways with” after their contracts expired. It’s difficult to even cite the last true in-season dismissal of a coach. Special Teams Coordinator Al Everest was fired shortly before the 2012 season while OL Coach Jack Bicknell Jr. was one-and-done in 2013. Defensive coordinator Tim Lewis was fired after the 2003 season, leading the team to bring back Dick LeBeau.
Canada’s contract runs through the 2023 season. If he isn’t fired during the team’s Week Six bye, he’ll likely be kept as a scapegoat throughout the rest of the year. And Pittsburgh will begin the process of hiring his replacement. Stephen A. Smith will get his wish sooner or later. He’ll just have to be patient for it to happen.
Listen to the whole segment before. The words here certainly don’t do Smith’s anger justice.
