With Matt Canada officially out of a job, fired by the Pittsburgh Steelers last Tuesday morning, we’re learning more about his tenure as the team’s offensive coordinator. Beyond the obvious, the team’s lack of production, it doesn’t sound like the game plan was a collaborative effort.
Appearing on KDKA’s Steelers pregame show Sunday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac said Canada didn’t get the other coaches involved in creating the team’s weekly game plan. That’ll change under interim OC Eddie Faulkner.
“One of the things that Matt Canada did not do was involve the assistant coaches in the game plan,” Dulac said. “That’s going to be Eddie Faulkner’s job, organizing the staff. [That] was Mike Tomlin’s words and that’s what he is doing.”
It’s hard to say to what degree they were shut out. Many coaching staffs work together to build the game plan so the task doesn’t fall on just one person. It’s more effective and efficient to spread things out. The running backs and offensive line coach focusing on the run plan and perhaps other coaches having a hand in specialty situations. Earlier today on ESPN’s NFL Countdown, former QB Alex Smith said the wide receivers coach might be responsible for the two-minute package, for example. Perhaps Canada tried to do all the work himself or leaned significantly on longtime assistant Matt Tomsho, who has followed Canada around job to job the last seven years.
Whatever Canada’s process was, it clearly fell flat. His tenure was defined by ugly results and an offense that continued to take steps backward. Frankly, it’s hard to see how Mike Tomlin could allow Canada to take this approach, assuming the reporting is true, without intervening.
Replacing Canada will be a two-prong approach. As Tomlin outlined Tuesday, Faulkner will carry the interim offensive coordinator title and though he won’t call the plays, he’ll lead the staff throughout the week.
“Organizing staff responsibility in meetings,” Tomlin said of Faulkner’s role Tuesday. “Organizing game planning. Leading our unit as a collective in review of our tape in preparation of our upcoming opponents and things of that nature. Things that a coordinator does. He has full authority in that regard and my support.”
QBs Coach Mike Sullivan will be the team’s official play caller. Given his background as a coordinator and close relationship with QB Kenny Pickett, he’s a logical choice.
Ultimately, Monday through Saturday work only matters if the results on Sundays get better. It’s a relatively low bar for this interim group, even an average offense will be celebrated, but Faulkner and Sullivan also face the pressure of trying to push this team through to the playoffs. Right now, the Steelers’ odds hang in the balance. A win today will go a long way to playing on Wild Card weekend. A loss today might serve as the beginning of the end.
