Steelers news: Pros and cons of keeping Matt Canada

The Pittsburgh Steelers are retaining offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Here are the pros and cons of this move.

The Pittsburgh Steelers ended their season going 7-2 after starting off the season with a 2-6 record. Yet, that 9-8 record wasn’t enough for the Steelers to make the playoffs, just missing out after the Miami Dolphins defeated the New York Jets in Week 18. There was plenty to be excited about for the Steelers entering the offseason, and the offense is one area the fanbase was wondering what they will do next.

It’s no secret that the Steelers faithful aren’t exactly the biggest believers in offensive coordinator Matt Canada. That once again opened up the debate as to what the team will do with him. His detractors probably won’t like the latest update.

According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Gazette, the Steelers have no intention to replace Canada, and he will be returning as Mike Tomlin’s offensive coordinator for his third season.

Pittsburgh fans are once again going to debate whether bringing Canada back for another season will be the right move. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of retaining him.

Pros of Steelers retaining Matt Canada

At the start of the year, Pittsburgh’s offense was far from electrifying. But when their playoff lives were on the line at the end of the season, the offense stepped up in a huge way.

Rookie Kenny Pickett had a tremendous end to his season, as he orchestrated game-winning drives late in the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens in consecutive weeks. Those two drives showed promise that it’s possible Pickett could be the team’s long-term answer at the position.

When it comes to young quarterbacks, stability does play a huge role in their success. While yes, Canada didn’t exactly instill much confidence in the fanbase with his play-calling, getting rid of Pickett’s first offensive coordinator in the NFL isn’t ideal. After all, he would have to learn a completely new playbook. Not to mention, look at how he played in the final games of his rookie season. That could be something that Canada can build off of throughout the offseason and implement into the 2023 game plan.

With Pickett on his first contract, it’s up to the team to put some pieces around him to succeed, specifically on the offensive line. Let’s see what he can do with said additions and another year with Canada calling plays.