It has been said by the players, coaches, and media analysts the last few days since OC Matt Canada got his pink slip from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday morning: No one should be happy and celebrate someone losing their job, especially around the holidays. A man losing his job means losing the means that he provides for himself and his family, having to work to find an alternative to be able to continue on with life’s work.
Still, firing Canada was a move that the Steelers needed to make, and frankly, was long overdue given the former OC’s results the last three seasons at the helm. Pittsburgh has struggled in nearly every offensive category under Canada, looking more like a JV team getting together for the first time than a professional offense. Thus, many have commended Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin for finally pulling the trigger and moving on including Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports who mentioned that Tomlin moving on from Canada is one thing Steelers fans can be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
“Mike Tomlin finally recognized the offensive ineptitude,” Benjamin said. “He took sole responsibility for axing coordinator Matt Canada ahead of Week 12. It might not save QB Kenny Pickett and a stale, old-fashioned unit. But it at least shows a willingness to improve.”
Tomlin issued a statement stating that they were relieving Canada of his duties to break the news on Tuesday and then spoke to the media in a press conference the same day, stating that the decision to fire the Steelers’ former offensive coordinator was his and his alone. This was combated by Gerry Dulac’s initial report that it was owner Art Rooney II’s decision to dismiss Canada, later supported by former Steelers’ executive Doug Whaley and others in the media, believing that Tomlin was too loyal to his co-worker to actually go through with firing him in-season.
Tomlin has stood by his word and has received confirmation from The Athletic’s Diana Russini who had sources confirm with her that Tomlin was never pressured to make a change at offensive coordinator, but rather that decision came freely from him.
Regardless of who actually made the call as reports continue to go back and forth like the classic Spider-Man meme, the fact of the matter is that Canada is no longer with the franchise and Pittsburgh can move forward finding out exactly what they have in QB Kenny Pickett and the rest of the offensive players on the roster.
Was Canada the culminating reason why Pittsburgh’s offense was so awful, or will the Steelers continue to struggle due to erratic play from Pickett or an offensive line that can’t keep the pressure from coming to their quarterback? We’ll now know as Tomlin finally showed he wasn’t going to live in his fear of doing the unprecedented with Pittsburgh in playoff position, being willing to cut ties with his offensive coordinator in an effort to create a spark that would lead to a better offensive output.
