Pittsburgh Steelers ownership might want Matt Canada out, regardless of what head coach Mike Tomlin thinks. He’s been that bad.
Canada’s offense was among the worst in professional football this past season. Sure, a young offensive line and aging quarterback were in part to blame for that fact, but in the end ownership falls on the OC.
The Steelers knew it might be a tough transition under Canada because of these facts. That’s why — per Tomlin’s comments — it seems like they’re giving him another year to implement his system with a new quarterback.
“I’m optimistic about Matt and what he’s capable of doing. I acknowledge we took a step back. There’s some obvious tangible reasons why that occurred… we got to be better. We intend to be,” Tomlin said.
Yet, per NFL Insider Mike Florio, Steelers ownership could step in and make the change themselves.
.@ProFootballTalk says on @937theFan that it's possible Art Rooney gets involved and tells Mike Tomlin to fire Matt Canada. Like @gerrydulac Florio referenced the Bruce Arians "retirement" from 2011. Says Rooney is more hands on than Steelers fans think. This would be great news.
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) January 21, 2022
Steelers: Could Rooneys actually fire Matt Canada?
The easy answer is yes, it’s well within their right to do so.
Canada’s scheme was clearly flawed last season, although some of that can be blamed on personnel. Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot recently recounted the team’s blown assignments and mental mistakes against the Chiefs in a Twitter thread, which starts below.
Depressing to do this again but a collection of Steelers' offensive plays Sunday night that were plain broken. Nothing to do with scheme or concept. Just fundamental breakdowns that ruined plays. Happened far too often this year.
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) January 19, 2022
Sad thread incoming... #Steelers
If the Steelers’ personnel cannot figure out Canada’s system by the postseason, then maybe it’s not a good fit. The OC previously coached in college, and found his most success at the University of Pittsburgh before transitioning to the pro level.
Roethlisberger was bad this season. The offensive line was abysmal. Hell, even the Steelers skill position players disappointed some, plus JuJu Smith-Schuster was injured. Najee Harris was about the only positive takeaway from the 2021-22 season offensively for Pittsburgh.
But at some point, the man in charge has to take responsibility, as does the man responsible for hiring Canada in the first place.