While many in Pittsburgh are ready to be done with former offensive coordinator Matt Canada, QB Kenny Pickett isn’t one of them. Pickett said during his press conference on Wednesday that he talked to Canada after Pittsburgh’s win over Cincinnati on Sunday.
“Not since Sunday, talked to him after, but not since Sunday,” Pickett said via the team’s YouTube channel when asked if he’s talked to Canada.
While the Steelers are moving forward without Canada and with Eddie Faulkner as the offensive coordinator and Mike Sullivan as the offensive play-caller, Canada and Pickett built a relationship over their season-and-a-half working together. Canada was Pickett’s first offensive coordinator in the league, and the roots of his offense are still in place with the Steelers. While there have been some tweaks, at its core, it’s still Canada’s offense that Pittsburgh is running.
The change was necessary, as the Steelers weren’t getting the results they needed with Canada running the offense. They put up their first game with 400+ yards of offense since Randy Fichtner was Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator on Sunday, and the offense just looked a lot better.
That doesn’t mean that Canada isn’t missed by some of his former players whom he had good relationships with. It’s clear he had a good bond with Pickett given that the two are keeping in touch, and Pickett said he called Canada after he found out he was being let go. Faulkner made it clear that the failures on offense this season were on the entire offense and offensive staff and not just Canada alone, and I’m sure Canada is still rooting for his former players and friends on the coaching staff.
It’s nice to hear that Pickett and Canada are keeping in touch, and it’s also good to see the Steelers’ offense finally humming. Pickett played his best game of the season on Sunday, throwing for 278 yards, but the offense only scored 16 points. That does have to change, and they need to put more points on the board. We’ll see if Faulkner and Sullivan can spearhead a game plan to do that against the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
If Pickett can continue to play the way he did on Sunday, the Steelers are going to be in good shape going forward and will be in a spot to make the playoffs. While Canada may not be on the coaching staff, he’s still a part of the 2023 team’s story, and I’m sure Sunday won’t be the last time he speaks to Pickett.
