Ben Roethlisberger’s last NFL offensive coordinator was different from the rest of them. On the most recent episode of his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger laid out how Matt Canada approached his job differently than the others he had. While not a direct criticism, his comments offered a contrast to how Canada worked him versus the handful of other offensive coordinators he had during his long NFL career.
“Even when I had a quarterback coach, whether Randy [Fichtner] was the quarterbacks coach or [Bruce Arians] or Kenny Anderson, however it was, always worked closely with the coordinator,” Roethlisberger told co-host Spence. “I didn’t feel that with Matt even when he was my coordinator…it almost felt like, Matt wanted to let the the quarterbacks coach coach me or coach the quarterbacks.”
Canada was originally hired by the Steelers in 2020 to become the team’s quarterbacks coach after the team went without one for two seasons, OC Randy Fichtner (who previously served in that role) pulling double-duty for the team. But Roethlisberger was very close with Fichtner, making for an easy relationship.
But the Steelers pivoted and wanted a dedicated positional coach on the team. Enter Canada, who was promoted to OC for the 2021 season when Fichtner’s contract wasn’t renewed. With Canada elevated, veteran coach Mike Sullivan was tabbed as the new QB’s coach. And for the first time, Roethlisberger spent most of his time with him, not the OC.
“And for right or wrong, it’s just maybe the way he does it. Now maybe it was different this year. Maybe he just didn’t wanna do it because it was with me or what, I don’t really know that. But that was the first time that I felt that I wasn’t working directly with the coordinator as much.”
Roethlisberger did not have a terrible final year but the Steelers’ offense went into a shell. He averaged just 6.2 yards per attempt, the lowest number of his career sans the 2019 season, one he lasted just six quarters before blowing out his arm. At 39, Roethlisberger’s was breaking down. Though many cited his arm as being the problem, linking the elbow injury to diminished arm strength, his knees were the larger reason. From surgeries, scar tissue buildup, and an eternity in the NFL, Roethlisberger lost almost all his mobility and was no longer able to drive the football. In a Wednesday radio interview with DVE, he joked that his arm still worked fine but his lower body did not.
More to the point, it’s a revealing contrast from Roethlisberger. It’s unclear if Kenny Pickett had the same setup but it stands to reason that was the case. That Pickett would also spend more time with Sullivan than Canada. Of course, positional coaches work with their group every day, that’s their job, but the relationship between offensive coordinator and quarterback is the most critical one on the team. Canada’s job was to mold Pickett and reportedly, though it’s also obvious to see, his lack of progression was a key reason why the team made the unprecedented decision to fire him mid-season.
Roethlisberger speculated that Pickett’s success and improvement in Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals could be due to his close relationship with Sullivan.
“Maybe why Kenny feels more comfortable…maybe the same thing was going on right now where Matt was kind of more removed. Like,’ listen, I’m the coordinator. I’ll coordinate, you work with Sully and deal with that.’ Him and Sully probably have that kind of relationship, I assume, because Sully is that kind of guy.”
Despite the different setup, Roethlisberger doesn’t seem to have ill-will or resentment. More than most in Pittsburgh, he’s defended Canada and said during the show he felt bad that he was fired after taking so much heat from the fanbase during the season.
Watch the full episode below.
