It was pretty obvious to everyone that wasn’t Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin that the writing was on the wall. Standing at 6-4, there’s no way the Steelers could let this continue, even if the franchise is known for hardly ever making in-season coaching changes.
But after another lackluster offensive performance, one which saw the Steelers lose 13-10 to a team with a rookie backup quarterback, the noise grew insurmountable. On Tuesday, the Steelers elected to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada, according to multiple reports.
“Matt Canada has been relieved of his duties as offensive coordinator,” Tomlin wrote in a statement, via NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport. “I appreciate Matt’s hard work and dedication, and I wish him the best moving forward in his career.”
The move was a long time coming and one that many in the NFL world didn’t think the team had in them. The 51-year-old Canada, a longtime offensive coordinator at the college level, was in his third season as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator.
The team’s offensive woes aren’t new. They were apparent to everyone outside the building last year and bled into the first 10 games of the 2023 NFL season.
At the time of Canada’s firing, Pittsburgh’s offense ranked 28th in points per game (16.6), 28th in yards per game (280.1), and 31st in passing yards per game (170) this season. Despite being 6-4, they somehow have been outgained in every game, which seems improbable but is somehow the cold hard truth.
As news of Canada’s firing was made public on Tuesday, many took to social media to weigh in on the matter.
Another departure for football’s great fraudster pic.twitter.com/kmDMnYs65V https://t.co/YIMSuz27aZ
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) November 21, 2023
[Tom Pelissero, Adam Schefter]