Matt Canada being fired by Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers represents an incredibly rare occurrence. NFL coaches get fired all the time. The Buffalo Bills let Ken Dorsey go a week ago. However, it almost never happened with the Steelers. In fact, this is the first time in 82 years the franchise has axed a coach during the season, and the last time it happened the coach, Bert Bell, fired himself!
“History today in Pittsburgh: When the Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada today, it marked the first time they have made an in-season coaching change since 1941, per @PaulHembo,” ESPN insider Adam Schefter tweeted on Tuesday. “The last time the Steelers fired a head coach/coordinator midseason was 1941, when the team’s half owner, Bert Bell, fired himself.”
De Benneville “Bert” Bell is an incredibly important figure in NFL history. The Pennsylvania native played quarterback at Penn, coached at Penn and Temple University, co-founded, owned, and coached the Philadelphia Eagles, co-owned and coached the Steelers, and was Commissioner of the NFL.
The NFL would not be as we now know it without Bell’s involvement. That said, he should have stuck to owning teams and managing the league.
Bell was a putrid 10-44 while coaching the Eagles and took over the Steelers in their first season with that nickname (after previously going by “Pirates”). He lost his first two games at the helm and his co-owner, Art Rooney, convinced Bell to fire himself. That was Bell’s last coaching gig, and he went down with a 10-46 record, the second-worst of all time for a coach who coached at least five seasons, second only to Phil Handler’s 4-34 mark with the Chicago Cardinals in the 1940s.
So, even though Matt Canada was fired by Mike Tomlin on Tuesday, it could always be worse. And who knows, maybe this means Canada will someday be the NFL Commissioner!
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