Five reasons Steelers must fire OC Matt Canada

Following the Steelers 30-6 loss to the Texans on Sunday, head coach Mike Tomlin said the team has "got to make some changes." Here are five reasons that change should be firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

1) Predictability 

Pittsburgh's offense has struggled mightily to start the season and NFL analytics expert Warren Sharp revealed why. According to Sharp, when the Steelers are under center, they run the ball 90 percent of the time and when the team is in shotgun, it passes over 80 percent of the time.

Those statistics are shocking but certainly explain why Pittsburgh hasn't had much success on offense. Canada is continually tipping his hand to opposing teams. It often looks like the defense knows the play before the snap. That may just be the case.

"Matt Canada is a horrific combination of being not only the worst but also the most predictable playcaller in the NFL," Sharp posted on platform X.

2) Play design

The Steelers have a young and talented core of weapons, but Canada doesn't call an offense that plays to their strengths. In Week 4, QB Kenny Pickett threw 63 percent of his first down passes behind the line of scrimmage, the highest rate of any quarterback this week, per Sharp.

Pickett also averaged just 0.5 air yards, which is the fewest of any quarterback in Week 4, and zero first-down attempts resulted in a gain of over five yards. No one is expecting Pittsburgh to get 10+ yards every time on first down, but never getting more than five yards sets the offense up to fail on every series.

3) Stunting Pickett's growth

Pickett is in a very important year of his NFL career as many quarterbacks take a leap in their second season. Canada is certainly preventing that from happening. It seemed like Pickett was going to take a leap when he finished the preseason with a perfect passer rating, but he looks to have taken a few steps backward since.

Now, Pickett is also expected to miss some time with a knee injury he suffered on a highly criticized fourth-and-one call in Week 4. Canada has not only stunted Pickett's development but has gotten him injured with a terrible play call as well.

4) Public mockery

The last time the Steelers were home, loud chants of "Fire Canada" echoed throughout the stadium, and they won the game. In Week 5, Pittsburgh hosts the Ravens (3-1) in a divisional matchup where fans will be even less forgiving if the offense continues to struggle under Canada.

However, the public mockery of the Steelers doesn't stop there. Former wide receiver Antonio Brown, who has been highly judged for his actions on and off the field, has joined in, posting for the team to "call him" for offensive coordinator and comparing Canada's play calls to those on the video game "Madden." That may even be generous.

5) Experiment is over

Pittsburgh took a chance on Canada in 2021 when it hired him as its new offensive coordinator and there was optimism as he had ties to the University of Pittsburgh. But almost two and a half years later, the experiment needs to come to an end.

"Stop bumping your head up against the Matthew Canada wall. Send him back wherever you want to send him. Send him back to Pitt," former Steelers and ESPN analyst Ryan Clark said. "It is sickening what you saw yesterday from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I expect wholesale changes."

Some may be nervous about implementing a new offense just four weeks into the season, but it can't get much worse than it is. There must be a change and that change must be parting ways with Canada.