The Pittsburgh Steelers have been struggling on the offensive side of the ball since the 2023 regular season kicked off. The unit hasn't shown much, if any, improvement. A lot of the blame is being put on Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada, who has recently been refusing to take responsibility for his horrible offensive play-calling. Instead of taking accountability, he has recently blamed his players for the lack of success on offense during his press conference on Wednesday.
Joe Sargent / Getty Images
Steelers offensive coordinator, Matt Canada stares into the distance prior to a 2022 regular season game at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
Former Steelers Player Suggests Canada Has Lost The Locker Room
On Thursday, Andrew Fillipponi said on 93.7 The Fan that he received a text from a former Steelers player suggesting that trouble is brewing in the Steelers locker room. This would make sense, as Canada has refused to take accountability for the lackluster Steelers offense and instead, put the blame onto his players suggesting that they need to play better. Canada saying his players need to be better made it around NFL media and has been a major talking point throughout the Steelers' bye week.
"I got a message believe it or not from a former player who saw that quote from Canada. His text to me said that Canada has 'probably lost the locker room'."
Fillipponi refused to name the former player that sent him the text message, but regardless, it is not hard to believe that Canada has lost the locker room after putting the blame squarely on his players. Canada's offense has been insanely predictable this season and it is clear that his schemes and offensive play-calling style is not working. He has been given a shot with three different quarterbacks in Pittsburgh, and it hasn't worked with any of them. At some point, he needs to realize the players are not the problem, and it is him. The offense ranks near the bottom of almost every major offensive category to start the 2023 season.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter/x: @JSKO_PHOTO)
In 2022, Steelers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada didn't allow either of his quarterbacks, Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky, to audible out of plays.
Fillipponi and his co-host Chris Mueller continued to discuss how Canada's comments can make players lose respect for him in the locker room, and exactly what he did wrong and why it's not something a struggling play-caller should be saying.
"I don't think anybody wants publicly to hear the coach or coordinator say it, even if that person is right on some or most levels. It's a little different when Mike Tomlin questions the effort after a blowout loss to the Texans. Coming off a win going into the bye week and everyone knowing how bad the offense has been, I do think players want some accountability from the coordinator."
Canada is in his third season as the Steelers offensive coordinator. In those three seasons, the offense has never once totaled more than 400 total yards in a game. Canada has had many different offensive lines, wide receiver rooms, and personnel in general. The one constant within the offense has been that Canada is the one calling the plays, so it is quite obvious who should be accepting the majority of the blame for Pittsburgh's offensive struggles.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada during a 2022 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
This isn't the first time the Steelers offensive coordinator has turned the blame towards his players. He reportedly told the CBS crew that his offense is not built to come back from big deficits. Canada has since said that they twisted his words and that is not what he meant, but it still put the thought into his players minds that their offensive coordinator doesn't think they can come back to win games which will also contribute to him losing the locker room. Fillipponi brought this instance up and what it really meant.
"In that instance, he is saying they didn't give me the pieces or the players to make it work. I've got an offense that will put up points, but I'm doing the best I can with what I got."
Canada likely still believes in his offensive scheme, but thinks he doesn't have the players to execute it properly. Which explains how he feels about his current players and why he is placing the blame on them, rather than taking accountability for his horrific stint as the Steelers play-caller. It's likely Steelers fans will have to deal with Canada as the team's offensive coordinator for the rest of the season since he is still with the team at the bye week, hopefully the offense starts to show some level improvement.
Do you think Canada has lost the locker room? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
