Steelers fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada after Browns loss
Traditionally, it’s been the Browns firing coaches after losses to the Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada stands on the sidelines during an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. Canada was dismissed by the Steelers on Tuesday, Nov. 21, following two-plus seasons in which the team struggled to consistently generate offense. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
According to a statement released by Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, the team’s offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, has been fired.
“I appreciate Matt’s hard work and dedication, and I wish him the best moving forward in his career,” Tomlin’s statement stated.
Frustration in Pittsburgh has been rising with each passing week, even with the Steelers (6-4) in the midst of the postseason mix as Thanksgiving approaches.
Three weeks ago, right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor lost his starting job—pperhaps for good—ffor popping off late in a listless defeat to Jacksonville.
Two weeks ago, wide receiver George Pickens had to be consoled when he wasn’t the one who caught the game-clinching touchdown pass against Tennessee.
On Sunday in Cleveland, wide receiver Diontae Johnson had an extended disagreement with Tomlin on the sideline between the third and fourth quarters of what eventually became a 13-10 loss to the Browns.
In the subdued postgame locker room, running back
brushed off the team’s media team and continued to take questions in a compelling session filled with pregnant pauses where he seemed to be searching for the right thing to say mixed with candid revelations such as he’s getting “tired of this stuff.”
And while Tomlin has tried repeatedly to downplay any sign of dissatisfaction, likening things such as Pickens momentarily scrubbing his Instagram account of all Steelers-related posts recently as so much “reality TV,” the reality is that it’s fair to start wondering how much longer he’s going to keep it all together.
While Canada has taken the brunt of the criticism as the weeks pass and Pittsburgh continues to sputter, the truth is there is plenty of fault to go around.
The offensive line couldn’t contain Brown’s defensive end, Myles Garrett. Canada’s play calls—such as a first-quarter swing pass to running back Jaylen Warren in which no player in an orange helmet seemed the least bit fooled—flip-flopped between odd and unsuccessful.
And Pickett seemed to act as if there was a force field 15 yards downfield, choosing short and (in principle) safe throws that went nowhere.
He didn’t top 100 yards passing until the game’s penultimate snap and has two touchdown throws since the calendar switched to October.
Tomlin has fiercely protected the former Pitt star since upgrading him to the starting job a month into the 2022 season.
He has pointed to the intangibles Pickett delivers—toughness and tenacity top among them—as indications of development, even though Pickett’s metrics imply that just the opposite is true.
There was no scoreboard to hide behind on Sunday.
There is no magic in the last moments that “Fourth Quarter Kenny” has summoned semi-regularly (if always momentarily) to avert tragedy.
Instead, the Steelers were exposed yet again by a team in postseason contention, this time an AFC North foe that happened to have a rookie quarterback at the controls.