During his Tuesday press conference, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that he didn’t inform his players before firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada. The news came as a shock this morning, and NFL insider Mike Garafolo said on The Insiders on NFL+ today that Steelers players found out the news via group chat before being informed by anyone inside the organization.
“There was a lot of frustration along the way, a lot of frustration with the players. My understanding is the players this morning had a group text, they found out before they were told by the coaching staff. So they were having a text amongst themselves in which they were saying ‘Alright, well, hopefully this will lead to some better offensive play,'” Garafolo said earlier today.
Tuesday is the players’ day off for the Steelers, so guys weren’t in the building when the news broke via a tweet by the Steelers at 8:41 a.m. this morning. Tomlin made it clear that it was his decision and his decision alone, and he clearly acted on the move quickly without informing any of his players.
There was mounting frustration among players throughout the season, and after Sunday’s 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, it came to a head. WR Diontae Johnson was frustrated on the sidelines, RB Najee Harris said the Steelers needed to change something after the game, and it was just clear that guys weren’t happy.
With the Steelers 6-4, they’re still very much in the thick of the playoff race. If the season ended today, they’d be the AFC’s No. 7 seed, and this feels like a move made in order to keep the locker room intact and keep everyone focused on a common goal. The offense has been a mess this season, and Sunday was as bad as it’s looked all season. With Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan taking over offensive coordinator duties, maybe they’ll be some new blood and new energy in the offense that can keep the Steelers competitive and get the offense over the hump.
The onus is now on the players and QB Kenny Pickett to step up. We won’t see any drastic changes in the offense, but Canada can’t be used as an excuse if things still trend downward. With a key road matchup on Sunday against an AFC North rival in the Cincinnati Bengals, we’ll see if the offense can improve and the Steelers can get back on track with a win.
