This season, the pressure is on for Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive coordinator, Matt Canada. Canada joined the Steelers in 2020 as the quarterbacks coach, and worked closely with longtime starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. During his inaugural season, the black and gold had a standout year going 12-4 and winning the AFC North. After a disappointing playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers parted ways with offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner, and Canada was promoted to fill the role.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada, is looking to redeem his reputation in 2023.
Under Canada, the Steelers have gone 18-15-1 and the offense has looked uninspiring. The excuses for a lack of production have been valid, however, with an aging Roethlisberger in 2021 and 2022 focused on finding the future of the franchise at quarterback. Regardless of the circumstances, Canada has been under scrutiny throughout his tenure. Come the bye week in 2022, the Steelers were 2-6 and were coming off of their fifth loss in six weeks. The probability of Mike Tomlin having his first losing season as head coach was high. Many speculated that it was time to part ways with Canada, and many were shocked when the opposite occurred.
Despite what was at stake, Tomlin kept the faith and Canada stayed on board. Following the bye week, the Steelers turned their season around in a near miraculous way. Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett came into his own and led the Steelers 7-2 down the stretch. This turn around was enough for Tomlin to maintain his winning streak and for Canada to hang on to his title.
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Steelers' Kenny Pickett alongside Head Coach Mike Tomlin.
Approaching his third year as offensive coordinator, there are no more excuses. It's now or never for Canada. In the meantime, his players have shown their support. Pickett in particular has publicly commented on his connection with Canada dating back to being recruited for University of Pittsburgh. Others, however, aren't as easy on him.
NFL Analysts Have Seen Enough Of Steelers' Matt Canada
Wednesday, NFL analyst Mina Kimes took to The Mina Kimes Show to discuss the outlook of the AFC North in 2023. Kimes, alongside Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus, reviewed the Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens before touching on the Steelers. When they began to talk Steelers, Palazzolo didn't hold back.
"Pickett was great. It didn't show up on the stat sheet a lot, and I really think a lot of that comes down to Matt Canada. Despite the strong finish, they don't have a ton of easy stuff."
Kimes interjected, stating that she's not a fan of Canada. The two then went on to discuss Kyle Shanahan, head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and one of the greatest offensive minds in the business. Under Shanahan, Brock Purdy, the very last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, looked like a seasoned veteran of the game. Had Pickett been thrown into Shanahan's offensive scheme, the stat sheet may have looked a lot different. While players like Deebo Samuel frequently catch with space in the middle of the field, this is a rare occurrence for the Steelers as of late. Only rarely and most commonly in two-minute drills, Pat Freiermuth is targeted down the middle. Palazzolo continued speaking on the scheme.
"There's not enough layups. There's not enough easy stuff. Personnel wise, I think the Steelers are continuing to get better on top of, you know, Tomlin, whose always so good at keeping it all together."
Kimes agreed, confident that especially with Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, the offense should be performing at a much higher level. Some of the best offenses in football keep it simple and don't reinvent the wheel. Canada doesn't need to do anything revolutionary to the offense, he just needs to create situations that score points.
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Pittsburgh Steelers' Kenny Pickett and George Pickens celebrating after a touchdown in a game at Acrisure Stadium in 2022.
A lot is at stake this season for Canada, but he has the talent to make magic happen on the Steelers offense. In addition to Pickett, Pickens and Johnson, the Steelers have a strong running back group in Najee Harris and Jalen Warren. With a revamped offensive line, the running game should only improve as well.
Do you think Canada will redeem himself? Let us know in the comments below.
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