Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett and his success were most intertwined with former offensive coordinator Matt Canada. With Canada being fired yesterday, Pickett gave his reaction to the news to the media today. He said he called Canada after getting news and that the Steelers need to be better as a whole as they get ready for the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12.
“Got the news when everybody else got the news, you hate to see it, you don’t want to see one of your coaches lose their job. We all gotta be better. Called coach, wished him well, we had a good conversation, gotta bounce back quickly and get ready to go for Cincy,” Pickett said via TribLive’s Joe Rutter.
“It’s a challenge to everybody. I think you have to take it personal, it’s a guy you worked with since I got drafted here. You want to play great, you don’t want to see anybody get let go like that,” Pickett said via 93.7 The Fan on Twitter.
With Canada now gone, it will be up to Mike Sullivan and Eddie Faulkner to put together the offense and run it. Faulkner will have offensive coordinator duties during the week and handle a lot of the game planning, while Sullivan will call the plays. Sullivan and Pickett have a close relationship, one that was reportedly closer than the relationship Pickett had with Canada, so hopefully Sullivan can help Pickett get back on track after one of his worst performances of the season.
Pickett threw for just 106 yards against the Cleveland Browns in Pittsburgh’s 13-10 loss, which was Canada’s final game as offensive coordinator. Pickett found out the news the same time as everyone else, which tracks with Mike Tomlin saying he didn’t inform the players before making a decision. Given that Tuesday is the players’ day off, it makes sense that they wouldn’t have found out beforehand.
For Pickett, getting ready for Cincinnati is going to be the focus. He’s struggled this season and he needs to prove he can be the guy to lead the Steelers forward. Given his first-round draft status, he’s expected to be this team’s franchise quarterback, but he’s struggled so far this season. Moving on from Canada should hopefully provide a spark for Pickett and let him know that now the onus is on him to turn around the struggling offense and passing game.
With Pittsburgh set to face another backup quarterback in Cincinnati’s Jake Browning, Pickett is going to have to show that he’s the better quarterback on the field Sunday. That is something he couldn’t do against the Cleveland Browns and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who replaced the injured Deshaun Watson. If he can outduel Browning, the Steelers should be able to pick up a key AFC North road victory.
