Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada was relieved of his duties early Tuesday, despite assurances back in October he'd see the season through. Steelers fans have been celebrating Canada's firing all over social media, coupled with a healthy dose of criticism of second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett. Canada was fired almost three years to the day he was hired in 2020 when he replaced Randy Fichtner. The 6-4 Steelers are currently third in the AFC North, clinging to the conference's seventh and final playoff spot.
To say Pittsburgh's offense has struggled under Canada's command would be an understatement. The Steelers have been outgained in all ten of their games this season. The team's 15 touchdowns are second least in the NFL — only the New York Jets (10) have fewer. In addition, they have converted just 34.6% of their third-down conversion attempts, which ranks 25th in the NFL.
As you can imagine, fans were fired up to see Canada let go:
Pickett and the Steelers offense will now be led by two in-house replacements: quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan and running backs coach Eddie Faulkner, according to Tom Pelllisero of NFL Network.
The Steelers' offensive struggles can't be blamed on poor health. No one on the Steelers' offense is presently listed on injured reserve. Pittsburgh's ground-based attack, led by running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, is averaging just 16.6 points per game in 2023, which ranks 28th in the NFL.
Quarterback Kenny Pickett, a celebrated pick when the Steelers drafted him out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2022, has struggled to find consistency at the outset of his career. Though Pickett's 281 pass attempts are among the fewest among NFL starters, his completion percentage of 60.5% ranks 31st among eligible QBs. While a drastic reinvention of the team's offense scheme is unlikely, Steelers fans will be hoping that Matt Canada's firing can provide a much-needed spark for the playoff run.
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