The Pittsburgh Steelers have finally made the long-anticipated decision to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
The fans of the Steelers have openly wanted this to happen, and they got what they wanted this past week.
The Steelers fired Matt Canada last Tuesday on November 21 after two and a half seasons of being the OC. During that time, he didn’t get much praise because the fans didn’t think he called the right plays.
Tomlin said that it was all his decision to fire him and the fans were all for it.
“I did not come to this decision lightly… It’s my role to absorb and protect those that I work with. This doesn’t feel like that. I’m not assigning blame or deflecting in any way… Just rest assured that this decision was not taken lightly. I’ve got a lot of respect for Matt personally and professionally,” says Tomlin.
Pittsburgh played their first game without Canada calling the plays last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. The offense was moving the ball down the field easier than most other games with Canada. The Steelers ended with 400+ total yards of offense which hasn’t happened since September 20, 2020 against the Broncos.
It may not be a coincidence that as soon as Canada is fired, the Steelers look like an actual offense.
“While in charge, Canada’s teams never gained 400-plus yards of offense in a game,” says Garret Behanna.
Due to Canada being fired, Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan are splitting the roles of the offensive coordinator for the Steelers. Faulkner will be taking the everyday job of the OC and Sullivan will be calling the plays on Sunday.
The quarterback Kenny Pickett thrived in this new offense this past week, but he still has to get warmed up to the new play calls.
“It’s definitely different… It’s a new play caller, so you kind of get used to the flow of how he likes to call things, and that’s something that we’re going to continue to iron out, but felt like every drive we were having productive drives, moving the ball really well,” says Pickett.
