The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent most of the 2023 season struggling to get their offense back to what we all witnessed during the 2023 preseason. Rather than the near-perfect, high-flying display that the Steelers showed in August, the truth of the 2023 Steelers offense is that they are among the worst in the league. Aside from a brief bright spot in Week 12, the offensive performances have been incredibly underwhelming. Peter King believes that the Steelers can put all that behind them if they are smart about their offensive coordinator search for the 2024 season.
Matt Freed / Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Steelers Owner Art Rooney II will need to make some tough choices on Mike Tomlin and the direction of the team following the 2023 season.
The nearly three years of Matt Canada didn't work for the Steelers' offense, and so far, neither has the combination of Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan. If you set aside the Week 12 emotion-fueled, 400+-yard victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, then the entirety of 2023 has been about the Steelers' offensive incompetence.
King, joining The Cook & Joe Show on Tuesday, talked about the Steelers' offense and what direction they could go in the future to get the team back to the offensive firepower we witnessed with Ben Roethlisberger under center. According to King, the Steelers have to take a direct, purposeful approach in their search for their next offensive coordinator, or else they will be right back where they started.
"I am a fan of Klint Kubiak. I think he's really smart, I think he has a lot of his father in him, and I think he's got a lot of cutting edge in him as well."
King mentioned how Mike Tomlin is friends with other head coaches like Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan, so it would be in their best interest for Tomlin to go to those friends of his and see who might be available. It isn't just finding someone who can fully open up the playbook on gameday in a creative manner, it's about putting someone in charge of the offense who can be a leader with the respect of the players in that Pittsburgh locker room.
"I would say, don't necessarily think about names. Think about the quarterback coach who's really young, or even the assistant quarterback coach, or think about whatever. Who's got a commanding presence who can command a room? Find that guy, and also, find the guy who Sean McVay doesn't want to lose. Find the guy who Kyle Shanahan doesn't wanna lose. Matt LaFleur. Find that guy, and then you're gonna know that this is the guy we ought to interview and consider strongly for this job."
That is excellent advice, especially for a franchise that looked outside the box when they hired Tomlin over other in-house choices, such as Russ Grimm. 2023 has proven that if there were answers within the organization, the Steelers wouldn't be in the situation they find themselves following consecutive losses to two-win teams. Pride has to be set aside, and Tomlin needs to be willing to give up some control, or else we could be watching the final moments of the Tomlin era wind down before our eyes.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin was very young when he was hired by the Steelers, but proved himself time and time again as the right choice.
Steelers The Right Fit For Kubiak?
It is one thing for a respected NFL insider like King to handpick Kubiak for the Steelers, but that doesn't mean it would actually work out. For whatever reason, when Canada was made coordinator, the belief within the Steelers' franchise was that he was the right person to handle Roethlisberger's final year and then oversee the transition to a new passer. We all know how that worked out, as we are still dealing with the fallout so that alone should make it clear just how important it is to get this one right.
When Kubiak was the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings during the 2021 season, the team ended up finishing 8-9, which led to the firing of the coaching staff, Kubiak included. Despite the record, their offensive rankings were miles better than anything the Steelers ever experienced under Canada. Kubiak had the 2021 Vikings offense ranked 12th in yards per game and 14th in points per game. To put that into perspective, the 2023 Steelers currently sit at 27th in offensive yards per game, 27th in points per game, and 28th in passing yards per game.
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada showed in every way how he was the wrong fit for the Steelers.
Considering what the San Francisco 49ers have done with Brock Purdy and their incredible arsenal of talent, it's certainly interesting to imagine what a competent offensive mind could do with the young squad the Steelers have assembled. There are still questions about Kenny Pickett and the struggling offensive line, both of which could be directly addressed by bringing in a commanding presence to take charge of the offense. The question is whether Tomlin can relax his grip on the team enough to let that happen.
Do yinz think Kubiak would be a good fit in Pittsburgh in 2024? Comment below!
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