Only in Pittsburgh would there be a debate raging about who made the call to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
Shortly after the news broke Tuesday morning that the Steelers had relieved Canada of his duties, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers insider Gerry Dulac reported that team president Art Rooney II made the call to fire the maligned offensive coordinator, giving the Steelers a fresh start.
Then, Tuesday afternoon head coach Mike Tomlin stated emphatically that the decision was his and his alone to fire the third-year offensive coordinator.
It appears now that Tomlin’s statement is accurate, thanks to reporting from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
In a piece Thursday morning, Russini wrote that Tomlin made the decision to fire Canada and was never instructed or pressured to make the move on the offensive side of the football.
“Head coach Mike Tomlin had multiple discussions with the staff, including his boss, Steelers owner Art Rooney, before informing Canada he was out after three seasons of calling plays. I was told by team sources the decision was truly Tomlin’s call,” Russini writes regarding the decision to fire Canada, according to theathletic.com. “While ownership listened and supported the head coach, he was never instructed or pressured to make a change.”
Dulac previously reported that it was Rooney who had hired Canada as quarterbacks coach in 2020 and eventually elevated him to offensive coordinator in 2021. However, Dulac later scrubbed those tweets from his profile. Then on Tuesday, he was out in front of the news, reporting that it was Rooney’s call to make a change at coordinator — a report he is sticking by.
Yet there was Tomlin on Tuesday stating that “leadership is lonely” and that he was the one who made the call. Now, reporting from Russini is backing that up.
Regardless of who made the decision to ultimately remove Canada from his post, it was a decision and a move that had to be made, especially after the Steelers’ offense was abysmal in a 13-10 road loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 11.
In Canada’s tenure, the Steelers averaged just 217 passing yards per game, 108 rushing yards per game and scored just 75 total touchdowns in 45 games, averaging just 1.7 touchdowns per game. Those numbers add up to just 325 total yards of offense per game throughout his tenure. Pittsburgh has not recorded a 400-yard game in 58 games, either.
This season, the Steelers are near the bottom of the league in every major statistical category, even though they find themselves at 6-4. Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett have been regressing the last month or so, too, which ultimately played a significant factor in the decision to pull the plug entering Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
