Can Steelers Do Anything In 2023 Without Taking Matt Canada Into Consideration?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been in a transitional state for several years, and the 2023 offseason is no different. It began at the conclusion of the 2021 season when the lurking fear in the corner of Steelers fans' minds became a reality; Ben Roethlisberger retired from football. As the organization dealt with losing a leader and future Hall of Fame player, the lead-in to that offseason was that Kevin Colbert would be leaving the Steelers following the NFL Draft. 

Roethlisberger was drafted in 2003 and never played a snap with another team. Colbert joined Pittsburgh in 2000 and brought continued stability and excellence to an organization that held it as their standard (21 Pro Bowl players, 7 All-Pro players, and at least one Hall of Fame player in Troy Polamalu, with more to follow). A combined 40 years of NFL experience left the team in the course of half a year, and perhaps if this was any other team, there would have been a vicious plunge into the valleys of the consistently mediocre teams, but this isn't just any other team; these are the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Steelers avoid the expected downfall

There was one question that dominated the very oxygen in Pittsburgh after the two giants (Roethlisberger and Colbert) walked away from the sport: "Who will be the next quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers?" The opinions were numerous with a wide variety of views that ranged from luring Roethlisberger back to the team, trading for Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady, relying on the defense, trust a fill-in QB like the 2000 Baltimore Ravens did by getting Trent Dilfer a Super Bowl ring, or look to the upcoming NFL Draft in a quarterback class that most experts considered weaker than usual.

Thankfully, nothing happened with the Rodgers/Brady route, because there was a player ready to help the Steelers work through the first breaking-in of a quarterback in the city since the impromptu introduction of Roethlisberger (shoutout to Tommy Maddox's elbow). Kenny Pickett came into Pittsburgh with a drastic split of opinions held by experts and fans, but the choice had been made, Mitch Trubisky was there to steer the ship for the time being (a very short time being, as it turned out), and the future was being built on youth and a brutal, highly-paid, highly-talented defense. By Week 4, Pickett was the starting quarterback and in a way that could only happen in Pittsburgh, the torch was handed from one QB who wasn't supposed to start as quickly as he did (Roethlisberger) to another who was needed to spark a lackluster offense.

At every step, it seemed as though the Steelers were taking an excellent path through what could have been a very difficult series of transitions, but a superb sense of who to hire and how to use them meant that Omar Khan didn't lose any time making his mark on the team, while Pickett is the undisputed man under center and quickly becoming a leader on a team led by the youth. Watching the Steelers make these moves and shift pieces around with such dexterity and efficiency would have been a pure, inspiring experience, but there was something off about the whole thing in a way that didn't jump out at you right away. Like a machine that has some loose bits inside somewhere, but it is running fine so you do your best to ignore the rattling and disturbance caused by those bits.

In the machinery of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Matt Canada, the offensive coordinator for some reason, is the loose piece that keeps rattling around. The thing is, the rattling is quickly becoming a dangerous clanking with the possibility of someone getting hurt.

Steelers took a strange direction regarding Canada

A simplistic summary of the 2022 Steelers would be "they got better during the season." Now, the reasons for that steady improvement range from TJ Watt getting injured (1-6 Steelers' record) and then returning from that injury (8-2 Steelers' record), a much-maligned offensive line that stayed healthy and gelled more and more from one game to the next, Najee Harris pushing through an early-season injury and then taking off once healthy, and the maturation, leadership, and overall growth shown by Pickett - especially in the Steelers consecutive victories over the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens to secure Mike Tomlin his "non-losing season" record as well as the confidence of Steelers fans everywhere.

With all these positive reasons for that growth to continue into 2023, one would think that another logical move would be to retain the coaching staff that oversaw the steady improvements - which is exactly what Pittsburgh did - but in this situation, the move was not only the wrong choice, it was akin to someone grabbing the wheel and fighting the drivers of the Steelers truck that are just trying to maintain speed down the road.

On the surface, the argument that Canada lacks both vision and creativity would be enough to take him out of the way so the offense won't regress, but since that wasn't enough to change anything, it is necessary to dig deeper into the endless pile of bland that is the Canada situation.

Every aspect of the Steelers will experience "Canada Fallout"

The only somewhat-logical reason given by Tomlin and the front office regarding the Steelers keeping Canada on staff is that they don't want to disrupt Pickett's growth by switching coordinators. Granted, there are plenty of examples where a young quarterback was hindered by constant OC changes. Sam Darnold saw several coordinator/head coach changes that drastically impeded his career, and Josh Rosen was a highly-rated draft pick that is now a nearly-forgotten name which can at least be partially attributed to his many coaching and team changes. Pulling from that same 2019 draft class, Lamar Jackson had a change in offensive coordinators, and other than injuries, Jackson has been a playmaker since Day 1.

The problem with this argument is that it's the wrong question to ask in the first place. Before you ask whether Pickett should go through a switch at OC, you need to ask if the coordinator you are considering retaining is even worth the place on the staff - which Canada is not. The ripples on an NFL team move outwards at a rapid pace, especially when they originate from a combination of the head coach and starting quarterback. If the situation would remain contained between Pickett and Canada, the issues to be worked out in that microcosm of their relationship, then maybe this would be a very different perspective, but the impact is widespread.

It is fitting that the 2023 offseason has been a whirlwind of action and aggressive moves, but have we slowed down and looked at these moves from the viewpoint of the Canada retention? Of course, the large offensive linemen signed have a great deal to do with the influence and expertise brought in by Andy Weidl from the Philadelphia Eagles, but there is more to this. There is now a two-part process that must be taken into account before any of these signings or priority shifts occurred. Usually, the only question that needs to be asked is, "Will this player add to our group, and how?" But now there has to be something before that: "Will this help get past the Canada Impact?"

Considering Isaac Seumalo as an addition to the offensive line? Will Seumalo be the kind of player that can take an uninspired play-call and turn it into a 5-yard gain? Will he get frustrated at the obvious lack of depth the OC displays on gameday? Now, if it seems like the Steelers have added five extra steps to every move they make without the upside of a competent OC, it's because that is precisely what happened. George Pickens learned this the hard way when he made the most of every single chance he was given, yet when the gameplan was revealed, it seemed as though Canada had Pickens on an unwarranted pitch count. It didn't help that when Canada did open the playbook a bit - probably by accident - it was the wrong call for the wrong situation, and still Pickens would come up with a huge play. The fact that three plays later, he was usually on the sideline fuming at the three reckless, tone-deaf calls that brought another three-and-out.

It is one thing to ask a lot of incoming players - even rookies - but at some point, the question itself becomes a detriment. How long before the frustrated look in the eyes of players in the locker room start to matter when it goes up against the laissez-faire aura that Canada exudes every moment of his life?

Steelers bought in, now to overcome their own obstacle

The NFL Draft is less than two weeks away, rosters are starting to take shape, and players have been going about their own offseason workouts for some time already; the time to make any kind of drastic change at OC is gone, but the work is hardly over.

For reasons beyond understanding and logic, the name on the OC door will be "Canada" through 2023, but what will it take to have a successful season with him at the offense's helm? The outspoken nature of the situation is actually very helpful here because there is no way any player could sign with Pittsburgh without knowing the OC situation they are also agreeing to. Even defensive players must take that into account because the constant three-and-out showings from the Steelers in 2022 put a ridiculous amount of pressure and field time on the defense in practically every game.

Even though Tomlin is one of the more vocal defenders of Canada, he also speaks often about the leadership of the younger, newer players to the team. That leadership will be an absolute necessity this season because there will be times when the play is obviously the wrong call and the offensive leaders will either need to have the confidence and freedom to audible often or to find a way to put their heads down and plow forward regardless of the moronic series of calls coming into Pickett's helmet.

The rebuilt roster for the 2023 Steelers didn't ask for the added challenge of winning in spite of the man running the offense, but that is the situation they are walking into. While we may have to all endure the cringe-worthy plays that Canada considers groundbreaking, it is not a secret among the franchise or fans, so when the team takes the field in Week 1, it will be with the understanding that they will be fighting on two levels; battling the opponent, and battling their own play calls.

If nothing else, all of this makes for one of the more interesting faceoffs within an organization. I see the Steelers still being a few pieces away from that deep, stable group that can pull together to overcome Canada. As long as Khan keeps the energy the same through all 7 rounds, the final roster may be frustrated at the situation, but they will be informed and prepared for it as well! Steelers fans have gone through worse, and been victorious through more daunting odds, but for some reason, the lurking "Canada" at the back of our collective minds is more worrying than not.