With news breaking that the Pittsburgh Steelers were finally moving on from OC Matt Canada Tuesday morning, it spread like wildfire throughout the media with various analysts weighing in on the situation.
NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, appearing on GFMB on NFL Network, said that Canada had started to lose the locker room and that the franchise is hoping that a change in play caller will provide some type of positive outcome for this struggling offense.
“This is an extreme rarity for Mike Tomlin to make a change in the season,” Pelissero said on GMFB, which aired live on NFL Network. “The hope is that this is going to provide some type of a spark. Players were obviously frustrated with the overall state of things on the offensive side. The decision made either in the morning: Matt Canada out as Steelers’ offensive coordinator.”
Pittsburgh’s offense hit the bottom of the barrel on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers gained only 249 yards with the passing game looking particularly uninspiring as QB Kenny Pickett threw for only 106 yards. If it wasn’t for a 74-yard touchdown run by RB Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh may had been kept out of the end zone entirely in Cleveland.
Players were visibly frustrated after the disappointing loss with RB Najee Harris saying that he was tired of the state of the offense and that the opposing defense knows what’s coming at times due to the offense Pittsburgh is running. WR Diontae Johnson and QB Kenny Pickett were also frustrated after the game after not connecting on crucial throws that could have given Pittsburgh a chance to win late, only putting more strain on an offense that the team has lost faith in to get the job done late in games.
Pittsburgh’s offense has struggled throughout the 2023, and even dating back to when Pittsburgh promoted Canada to offensive coordinator in 2021. It took the Steelers sinking to this level of low to push them to get rid of their offensive coordinator, a change that Pittsburgh hasn’t made in-season in decades. The offense can’t get any worse, and with Canada having lost the locker room, it was time for a change to try and spark this unit with Pittsburgh sitting at 6-4 and still very much in the playoff hunt.
