Matt Canada is the first Pittsburgh Steelers coach to be shown the door. By January, he might not be the last. There will be a debate and evaluation of the entire coaching staff once their 2023 season ends. Has offensive line coach Pat Meyer done a good enough job developing his group to warrant a third season? Will any coaches leave for a better job, like DBs Coach Grady Brown, who could warrant defensive coordinator interest in the next hiring cycle? All those remain to be seen.
But one coach who may follow Canada out of Pittsburgh is assistant Matt Tomsho. It has nothing to do with job performance. Officially listed as the team’s Quality Control Coach, I have no insight into whether he’s done a good or bad job. What’s relevant are his ties to Canada.
Tomsho has essentially served as Canada’s right-hand man for years. The two came together in 2016 when Canada was hired to be the Pitt Panthers’ Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach. Tomsho came on-board as an offensive assistant. When Canada left for LSU in 2017 (a move HC Pat Narduzzi was not happy about, by the way), Tomsho followed to become a Tigers’ assistant. When Canada was fired after a year and ended up at Maryland, guess who went there along with him? Tomsho, this time as a Graduate Assistant but probably with the same role. Canada was out of coaching in 2019, leading Tomsho to end up at D-III Wisconsin Eau-Clare, a big step down. There, he wore many hats, including wide receivers coach, Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, and helped out on special teams.
Once Canada was promoted to Steelers’ offensive coordinator in 2021, Tomsho was plucked again and hired as an assistant coach. Now that Canada is out, you see where this could be going.
Why didn’t Tomsho leave on Tuesday as Canada was let go? He needs a paycheck and the Steelers still need help getting through the season. Dumping Tomsho would’ve stretched an offensive coaching staff already thinner with RBs Coach Eddie Faulkner and QBs Coach Mike Sullivan assuming larger roles. It’s not like Pittsburgh has a large coaching staff to begin with either.
Of course, there’s no guarantee Tomsho will exit. It’s unclear when and in what capacity Canada will coach again. After a tough stretch in Pittsburgh and especially difficult 2023 (like him or not, hearing ‘Fire Canada’ all over the country is hard), he may take a year off and recharge. Even once he coaches again, if he’s not a coordinator, he won’t have the reign to hire assistants like Tomsho. And if Pittsburgh is happy with the job Tomsho has done, they could hang onto him. Having an NFL job is a pretty good place to chill out for a few years.
But Canada and Tomsho are clearly close. Canada’s help build up his resume from school to school. You normally don’t see a guy go from D-III to the NFL in a single jump. Even on Twitter, those who know Tomsho acknowledge he’s Canada’s “right hand man” (and apparently quality comedian). And if Canada lands on his feet, most likely back in the college game, Tomsho could again follow him to his next stop.
