Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, Matt Canada has been a hot topic all season long. Under Canada, the Steelers had a less-than inspiring offense, ranking 26th in points per game with 18.1. The Steelers were off to a rocky 2-6 start and players were noticeably getting fed up with Canada. Despite high speculation that Pittsburgh would part ways with Canada at the bye week, head coach, Mike Tomlin made the call to keep the offensive coordinator, continuing to give him full reign of the offense.
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Although the black and gold were able to turn their season around in a major way, going 7-2 down the stretch, most of the credit went to the return of TJ Watt and rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett’s knack for the two-minute drill. When questioned about his development at QB, Pickett credited linebacker coach, Brian Flores, rather than Canada.
Is the Steelers new "standard" settling for the 26th rank offense?
As the season came to an end, all eyes were once again on Canada. Many assumed that the priority would be finding a solution at offensive coordinator. Once again, just a week after the season ended, Tomlin announced that Canada would be returning. This upcoming season will be a big one for the offensive coordinator. Without using Ben Roethlisberger’s immobility or Pickett’s rookie season as a crutch, Canada will be under scrutiny if the offense doesn’t improve in a major way.
The Canada chronicles has its latest update.
In 2021, the Steelers parted ways with offensive line coach Adrian Klemm just weeks before the end of the season. Klemm had served as the assistant offensive line coach during the 2019 and 2020 seasons before being promoted for the 2021 season. With just two games left in 2021, it was announced that Klemm would be leaving Pittsburgh and had accepted a job with the University of Oregon. At the time, this is what Tomlin had to say:
“We released a statement yesterday regarding Adrian Klemm and his departure to go to Oregon. Let me start by saying I’m so appreciative of his efforts. The landscape that is coaching is changing each and every year. We see it; decisions are being made earlier in the processes. Colleges, the processes are happening faster, people are making hires, and so forth.”
During the 2021 press conference, Tomlin went on to state that he made the call to let Klemm depart to Oregon so that the Steelers could be fully focused on their upcoming games. At the time, this didn't draw much speculation. It was assumed that Klemm had received a better offer and Tomlin was gracious enough to let him move on early. With the recent announcement that the former Steelers offensive line coach will be joining the New England Patriots, question marks now arise surrounding Klemm's Pittsburgh departure. It turns out that there may be another reason why the offensive line coach was let go early. ESPN's Mike Reiss revealed that there was more to the story:
"One part of Klemm's coaching resume sparks a question -- he was the Steelers' assistant offensive line coach from 2019 to 2020, then was promoted to O-line coach in 2021 before leaving the team with two games remaining in the that season. What happened? Word out of Pittsburgh is that Klemm and offensive coordinator Matt Canada weren't an ideal fit, and head coach Mike Tomlin knew it wouldn't carry into 2022, so he green-lit Klemm's early departure. Tomlin publicly commented on Klemm at the time, praising his commitment while noting his desire to eliminate the perception of distractions. "
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Can Canada Do Any Wrong?
Matt Canada certainly has a good thing going with the loyalty that the Steelers organization has shown him. Now that Klemm is back in the NFL and with Canada still needing to prove himself, it's interesting to wonder if the Steelers made a mistake and let the wrong coach go. What do you think Steeler Nation? Comment below!
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