3 Steelers to blame for not firing Matt Canada even sooner

Steelers to blame for Matt Canada's empowerment: Mike Tomlin

Mike Tomlin may feel perfectly comfortable going 9-8 every season to keep his .500 campaign streak alive, but fans in Pittsburgh have greater expectations. Sure, Steelers fans are spoiled, especially after nearly two decades watching Roethlisberger play. But it should've been obvious to Tomlin that something is wrong with his offense, and it was not fixable with the current OC in a position of power.

Tomlin spent weeks deflecting questions on Canada's employment, only to eventually give way and fire him, proving that Steelers fans were right all along. He gave away nearly two seasons of Pickett's rookie contract and development as a passer to a coordinator who should not be running an NFL offense, and likely won't next year.

Tomlin is understandably loyal to his assistants. It's part of what makes him such an admirable head coach. However, keeping Canada at the end of last season proved to be a mistake. Not firing him during the bye week was inexcusable, as it gave Sullivan less than a week to make changes to the offensive approach.

Even with all of that, Tomlin may get bailed out by a gritty team and impressive coaching staff. Pickett and Sullivan deserved better.