Steelers' Mike Tomlin Is "Excited About Eddie Faulkner" Coaching The Offense

The Pittsburgh Steelers have finally fired Matt Canada, to the joy of everyone but fans of divisional rivals. With that change, the question then turns to who would replace him. In his Tomlin Tuesday's press conference, Mike Tomlin broke down the new responsibilities of the offensive coaching staff to replace Canada, as it is way too late in the season to hire someone outside the organization to install their own offensive system. While there are many questions that need to be answered, both by the coaching staff and by the on-field product, this is still a welcomed change. 

Which Steelers Coaches Will Replace Canada?

In his press conference, Tomlin spoke about Mike Sullivan calling the offensive plays for the Steelers. However, it is confirmed that Sullivan will not be taking the role of interim offensive coordinator. That role will be going to a different coach.

"I'm excited about Eddie Faulkner coordinating our efforts, organizing staff responsibilities and meetings, organizing game-planning, leading our unit as a collective in review of our tape and preparation of upcoming opponents and things of that nature, things that the coordinator does. He has full authority in that regard, and my support obviously."

Despite not being the primary play-caller, Eddie Faulkner has been named interim offensive coordinator in live time by Tomlin. Sullivan will call "the bulk of the plays" while Faulkner runs everything else that an offensive coordinator would normally do on a week-to-week basis. Whether it works or not is to be determined, but nearly anyone else would be considered an upgrade over Canada. 

Faulkner has been the running backs coach for the Steelers since 2019. While it was a rough stretch for him at first, the run game has picked up significantly in the most recent weeks. Despite being a backup, Jaylen Warren has had over 100 rushing yards in three straight games, including a 74-yard touchdown run in Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns. 

There are many issues with the Steelers offensively, so an immediate 180 on offensive production should not be expected. Some basic improvements are still expected, and the game tape will show how much better this team is with Faulkner and Sullivan running the show. 

The change obviously had to be made, especially with all the stats that have been drilled into everyone's heads throughout the season: no offensive 400-yard games in years, Kenny Pickett's lack of development and passing touchdowns, points per game and yards per game getting progressively worse throughout Canada's tenure.

Faulkner has less experience running an offense than Canada had, as Canada had been the offensive coordinator for four different college programs, although he was fired from two of them. While they may not have been good experiences, he at least did have experience running multiple offenses. 

Faulkner will be learning on the fly, although Sullivan taking over play-calling duties should help ease him into that role a bit more. Even if Faulkner is not ready, the fact that Canada is gone should be a huge relief for the Steelers. That alone should help the Steelers be more relaxed and more prepared to play football for the rest of the season.

What do you think about Eddie Faulkner's promotion to interim offensive coordinator, his prior experience, and the team firing a coach mid-season for the first time since 1941? Let us know in the comments.

#SteelerNation.