3 Steelers to blame for not firing Matt Canada even sooner
By Mark Powell
Steelers to blame for Matt Canada's empowerment: Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger played a major role in Canada's hiring, as the former Pitt OC was his quarterback coach prior to being given complete control of the offense. However, Roethlisberger had plenty of control of the offense himself, especially considering he ran the system for so long.
Big Ben struggled in Canada's offense, too, but much of that was blamed on positional decline. Roethlisberger was in his final seasons, after all. However, giving Canada a free pass with what basically amounts to a fellow play-caller at his disposal proved to be a mistake. Allowing him to develop his own young QB in Pickett proved disastrous.
As recently as last week, Roethlisberger questioned calls for Canada's firing, thinking it wouldn't solve the issues on offense. Typically, that is the case, as making changes to the offensive playbook midseason don't work. However, most teams don't have Canada as OC, and a potential play caller just behind them.
Sullivan has stepped in admirably, and should have done so sooner. Roethlisberger was wrong, and it allowed Canada to stay in power far longer than initially thought.