The Unexpected Firing, and the Fallout From It

Photo Credit: Joe Sargent, Getty Images

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin fired Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada. Tomlin was adamant on keeping Canada, while the fans were calling for his job since the end of last season. 

The Steelers haven’t made an in-season head coach or coordinator change since 1941.

Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett has been underperforming. Some fans have blamed his sophomore regression on the play calling from Canada. It could be the lack of great talent around him, the inconsistency of the offensive line or just Pickett’s inability to grasp the offense in his young career. It sometimes takes quarterbacks a few years to understand the offense, but Steeler fans have had enough. 

Pittsburgh was the fifth worst team in the NFL in terms of points per game (16.6), yards per game (280.1) and yards per play (4.7), with Canada calling the plays.

After Canada was fired, the Steelers eclipsed 400 yards of total offense, in their 16-10 win against the Bengals. On Sunday, Pittsburgh recorded 317 yards of total offense. In those two games, the offense has averaged only 13 points, which is less than what they averaged with Canada. Pickett did suffer an injury on Sunday and it’s a small sample size, so it’s too early to tell how the offense will play the rest of the season.

For example, The Buffalo Bills fired OC Ken Dorsey last week and promoted quarterback coach Joe Brady to OC. The Bills then dropped 32 points on the number one rated PFF defense in the New York Jets. Now, most of those points were set up by good field position due to the Jets’ inability to move the ball and their ability to turn the ball over, but it sparked the offense. 32 points is 32 points. The Bills then scored 34 points against the Eagles.

Some notable games remaining on Pittsburgh's schedule are the Bengals twice, at Baltimore and at Seattle. 

Will this spark the Steelers’ offense and help them make a playoff push?