Steelers Unpopular OC Matt Canada Should Only Have 3 Weeks Left To Prove His Worth

Will the Pittsburgh Steelers and Head Coach Mike Tomlin ever realize that Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada is not polished enough in his craft to call plays at the NFL level? Surely the answer is yes, but it's hard to comprehend why the level of loyalty is as high as it is. The offense has been one of the league's worst since he took over in 2021 and nothing has gotten better. The offensive line stepped up at the end of 2022 to open up the run game, but the team hasn't had 400 total yards of offense or more since Canada took the reins.

The Steelers decided to retain Canada for the 2023 season and after a rather successful showing from the first team in the preseason, it seemed as if the group may have been poised for a stellar year. It's only Week 3, but the offense is right back to where it was in 2022 when Kenny Pickett took over the starting quarterback role. Most calls are predictable, far from creative and it's impossible to understand why anyone in the building thinks it looks good on tape.

Pittsburgh has averaged 247 yards per game through two weeks which is 31st in the NFL. Ironically, the Cincinnati Bengals, a team that was expected to be full of firepower, has only averaged 212 and sit in last place in the AFC North. The Steelers have been in the bottom 10 in total yards each year Canada has been in charge, and that even occurred with a Hall of Fame-level quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger running the offense.

There has to be some internal discussions going on with Tomlin and the front office regarding Canada's fate. It's fair to see, barring a complete offensive makeover leading to the group being one of the best in the NFL, the play-caller will not be around in 2024. However, due to Tomlin's infatuation with promoting from within, why not give someone else in-house a shot if Canada's unit continues to struggle in 2023?

Steelers Might Have No Choice But To Make Choices During Week 6 Bye

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette did not seem phased recently when asked if the Steelers would fire Canada in-season. He is confident that the franchise would never do something like that. No one imagined the offense to get off to this horrible of a start, though. The clock might be finally ticking for Canada. Fans did not hold back on Monday Night Football in Week 2 and the ''Fire Canada'' chants could be heard all along the North Shore.

The argument in bringing Canada back for 2023 was a reasonable one. The team did not want to stunt the growth of Pickett who enters his second season in the NFL. Year two is often a telling sign of whether a signal-caller should turn into a true franchise quarterback or not. Pickett has looked rough in his first two outings of 2023, so now what's the excuse to keep Canada around?

Pittsburgh has an early bye in Week 6 and if the team is hovering around or below .500, it's most likely going to be due to the fault of the offense. It will still be early enough in the season to make some changes. The Steelers have to get away from the traditional style of hanging on to coaches for too long. Quarterbacks coach, Mike Sullivan has coordinator experience and while he wouldn't reinvent the offense midseason, it might be the jolt that Pickett and his teammates are looking for.

It's time for Tomlin to break the trend if the offense continues to sputter into the bye week. Everyone in America can't stand to watch the Steelers offense. It's boring, ineffective and simply put, it's not good. There are way too many talented players for the unit to perform so poorly over a two plus years span. Something has to change, and it shouldn't be at the end of the season if the on-field performance continues to be ineffective.