Is it time we apologize to former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada?
Well, at least, that’s the question ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is asking after the team suffered one of the worst losses in franchise history on Thursday against the New England Patriots.
“We literally have to sit here on national television and apologize to Matt Canada,” said Smith on First Take. “Because guess what? It doesn’t matter who has that job right now apparently nothing is going to work.”
Personally, I won’t be heading to the Canada residence, hat in hand, like a distraught ex coming to apologize for their misdoings. If anything, this offense is still feeling the effects of the system he put in place, with it being too late in the season to make any huge changes.
This doesn’t exonerate Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan, though. They called a crummy, play-it-safe game that should sit in a folder on Omar Khan’s desk as Exhibit A for their offseason departures. But it doesn’t help when the Steelers dragged their feet addressing the broken system, forcing them to keep it in place.
It’s like when a President dies two years into office and the Vice President takes over. Whether they like it or not, they are going to have to go through with most of the initiatives in place. Take Lyndon B. Johnson for example. After JFK’s death, he pushed, and succeeded in passing most of the deceased president’s agenda.
The difference between the Steelers’ current offensive play callers and Johnson is that after deciding to continue with the current agenda, Johnson built off it; Sullivan and Faulkner have not.
Side note: this is not a political endorsement, just a chance for me to be a nerd and tie U.S. history to football. Let’s continue.
It doesn’t help either when your quarterback is Mitch Trubisky, but really, what else is there to work with? Mason Rudolph? In that scenario, I suppose you just turn a blind eye to the Oklahoma State product’s time at the helm, where he lost his starting position to Devlin “Duck” Hodges.
I wonder what he’s up to nowadays outside of dating country music star Lainey Wilson.
Interestingly, Smith did abstain from placing any blame on head coach Mike Tomlin, instead pointing at the personnel and play callers. Quick newsflash for the ESPN personality: Tomlin is their boss. He plays a major part in choosing his personnel and play callers.
If Whole Foods has a failing store in Allegheny County, higher-ups aren’t calling the kid stocking the shelves, they are calling the store manager.
It might be time Art Rooney II does the same.
