Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett is without his offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, moving forward as he was fired this week. Canada is the only OC Pickett has known since his entry into the NFL.
However, Canada's offense was literally one of the worst in team history since he took over in 2021. When Ben Roethlisberger retired, matters only got worse, and Pickett's Year 2 regression cemented Canada's fate. Rarely does Mike Tomlin make in-season coaching changes, but he felt he had no choice after losing to the Cleveland Browns last week.
Pickett is part of the problem in Pittsburgh, as well. The second-year quarterback has not looked like the future face of a franchise. Steelers fans have had enough, and his comment about life after Canada won't help matters.
"You can't have wholesale changes at this point. We're going to run the system we've been using, Pickett said, per Joe Rutter of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Steelers offense could look even worse without Matt Canada
Pittsburgh's offense has been outgained in every game this year, including last week against the Browns, who started third-string rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson. While DTR's victory is a great story, by no means should the Steelers offense be in that position.
Pickett's numbers this season have been brutal, and the advanced stats don't look much better.
Tomlin refused to put any of the blame on his young quarterback, despite game tape that showed he missed clear, wide-open receivers over the middle. Frustration boiled over into the Steelers locker room, with Najee Harris openly criticizing the team's performance. Diontae Johnson and George Pickens sideline tantrums are a regular sighting these days at Acrisure.
When Pickett was asked about Canada's dismissal, he made it clear that he has to be better moving forward:
"You hate to see it. You don't want to see one of your coaches lose their job. We all got to be better," Pickett said. "Called coach, wished him well. We had a great conversation, but you got to bounce back quick and get ready to go."
Unfortunately for Pickett, next week will look a lot like the week before if they continue using Canada's scheme.