Go ahead and admit it, you checked your phone several times last week simply in the hopes that it would tell you that the Pittsburgh Steelers had parted ways with Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada. I even had some students try to prank me in one of my classes. They thought I’d believe the Steelers would actually fire him during the season. Props to them for their creativity, but Canada remains in charge of the offense and we all need to accept it.
Reportedly, there was a players’ meeting held last week prior to them getting some time off for the BYE week. It’s believed that Canada was a big part of the reason why the meeting was held. What allegedly came out of this gathering was that the team in general needed to accept the fact that Canada wasn’t going anywhere and they needed to move on with that. By and large, the players have largely remained professional and proper in front of cameras and microphones while probably thinking any number of negative things in private. Although some may not be as private as we thought.
The players – much like us – don’t have to like the fact that Canada is still around and is still calling the plays but it sounds like they are at least accepting that he isn’t going anywhere until season’s end. As fans, we can make signs and we can do “Fire Matt Canada” chants in Acrisure Stadium or at a Pens’ game or your kid’s birthday party. But what good does it really do? If Art Rooney II, who reportedly is the one who wanted him, hasn’t been coerced by us into canning him by now then he definitely won’t be anytime before January.
There is always the chance that the offense starts to click as it did in the second half of last year but that all depends on you define “click.” While the running game picked up and Kenny Pickett played better, the team still averaged just under 21 points per game over their last nine contests versus 15 in their first eight. To put that in perspective for 2023, the Steelers are averaging just over 12 points per game right now. Should they improve by 5-6 points again that’s still just 17-18 points per game.
Therefore, we would literally need to see an offensive explosion to even make a dent in our belief and our thinking. So what’s the point of all of this? First, don’t expect much in terms of offensive improvement. Two, don’t expect Matt Canada to be sent packing until the season is over and his contract expires. The sooner we just accept it the better regardless of how far back it sets Pickett or the team in general.
