Steelers' Ramon Foster Stands By Belief That The Team Will Fire Matt Canada Soon

The Pittsburgh Steelers fan base on social media is divided over team issues all the time. They have argued over everything from whether James Harrison belongs in the Hall of Fame, to if Kenny Pickett is the face of the franchise. However, there is one topic they seem to universally agree on which is that Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada should be fired. The phrase "Fire Canada" has been trending on Twitter/X since the start of the regular 2023 season. Now former players are weighing in on the conversation. 

Former Steelers offensive guard Ramon Foster now co-hosts a podcast called The Ramon Foster Show, which airs on DK Pittsburgh Sports. Foster and his co-host, reporter Dejan Kovacevic, have been talking about Canada on almost every episode. They recently discussed Head Coach Mike Tomlin's answer regarding changes to the coaching staff. Tomlin said during a recent press conference, "Not at this juncture." Kovacevic said that this is not an expression of faith in Canada like many fans think.  

"Here's my problem with, 'Not at this juncture,' here's my problem with that answer; if you believed in your offensive coordinator, there's no juncture, there's not not at this time. We get this is in parentheses, we get it he sucks, we get it he can't do anything right, we're getting clowned all over the league, we're getting clowned by our opponents. The person who should be the most fearful after hearing that is Matt Canada."

Foster agrees that, if the organization was still buying into what Canada is selling, then Tomlin would say that, which is what he did during the 2022 season. That is not what he is doing now. Kovacevic worries that if the Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens during their Week 5 game, then the team won't be able to fire Canada on the bye. Foster disagreed and said that it won't matter.  

"The business of what they're trying to incorporate, or what most fans want has to almost happen during the bye week," said Foster.

According to Foster, head coaches do get fired for keeping bad coordinators. He doesn't think it is outside the realm of possibility for it to happen in Pittsburgh. He also thinks that Tomlin is smart, he is well aware of the potential ramifications. 

The way Foster sees it, and the way he believes Tomlin sees it is as a "him or me" type situation. Foster added that coaches work really hard to get one of the 32 coveted head coaching jobs and they aren't just going to give that up. If it comes down to it, Tomlin will save himself.

Kovaceivc comments that if Tomlin is going to "save himself," he should hurry up and get to doing it. The fans are also demanding the immediate firing of Canada, but Foster doubles down on his earlier assertion that it isn't going to happen immediately. He said fans do not realize how complex the process of releasing a coach is and how much work has to be done behind it. For those reasons, he thinks it will not come prior to the Baltimore game. 

"You can't do it till next week [bye week]. The shake-up that it means, you gotta have a few days away to deal with that. It's almost like a death, you got to be able to get away from it for a minute before getting back to normal."

Kovacevic said that if that is true, then maybe that is why Tomlin said "Not at this juncture." Instead, Tomlin meant it was coming, just not yet. He added that the majority of the fans believe in the players, despite there being some hiccups, it is the coaching staff - mostly the offensive coordinator they feel is the issue. He feels most fans would take a loss to Baltimore if it meant they would fire Canada. He also doesn't see any chance that the Steelers lose a game on purpose.  

"I personally see that change coming regardless. You know why? You got time. One infraction doesn't correct everything," insisted Foster.

From his point of view, they have given Canada time and the offensive scoring is not acceptable. He doesn't think the firing will come as a result of pressure from the fans or the media. Foster believes that the indicators are there that the players are frustrated, especially the offensive line, with the play-calling, and on top of that, they are not scoring. 

Steelers Will Fire Canada Because He Can't Put Points Up

According to Foster in 2023 through the first four weeks of the season, the Steelers are averaging 15.5 points a game, which is 25th in the league. He said in 2022, they were not much better for the full season at 18.1 points per game, which was 26th. Then in Ben Roethlisberger's last year, 2021, they were 20.2 points, which was 21st and that was with a future Hall of Fame quarterback. Foster said that Steelers fans demanded the firing of Randy Fichtner, Canada's predecessor, but he was at least getting them 26 points a game. 

Through the first four games of the season, the Steelers stand at 2-2. They lost two games to the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans in horrific fashion. The two games they won were not necessarily decisive wins with the defense really winning Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns. The Week 3 game they won against the Las Vegas Raiders had its share of ups and downs, but it did give the feeling that the team was on its way up. That is why the Texans loss hurt so bad. 

The loss to the Texans showed that the team has more issues than just the offense. The Steelers defense, which has all the pieces to be exceptional, was unable to stop Houston's quarterback, C.J. Stroud. The Steelers are not going to clean house, but they have to start somewhere. It is hard to place all the blame on the defense if they never get to leave the field. 

What do you think about Canada's possible release? Click to comment below.  

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