Folks, every year an NFL team makes a decision at either head coach or one of the coordinator positions that I simply can’t wrap my head around. This year, the Pittsburgh Steelers are making a massive mistake retaining Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada.
Schematically, Matt Canada has been a disaster for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The offense doesn’t score touchdowns. The Steelers were tied for the second worst amount of touchdowns in the NFL in 2022 with 29.
On top of that, the offense lacked explosiveness. The team had just eight touchdowns outside of goal-to-go situations on offense this season which is pathetic. Their longest touchdown this season was just thirty one yards. The glory days of Ben Roethlisberger seem so far away.
On top of that, keeping Matt Canada is a surefire way to hamper the development of young quarterback Kenny Pickett. It’s safe to say that Pickett’s rookie season was far from a slam dunk. He threw more interceptions (9) than touchdowns (7) and another season with Matt Canada could be detrimental to his development.
The Steelers organization can be loyal to a fault. When good coaches and players are struggling, the loyalty can be a good thing. When bad coaches are ruining the development of the team, loyalty will rot a franchise from the inside out.
In today’s offensive driven NFL, teams need an innovative coordinator that knows how to get players in space and score on big play touchdowns. Matt Canada and the Pittsburgh Steelers have some stud weapons on offense that they simply aren’t able to create big plays with. Najee Harris looked slower this season. Dionte Johnson didn’t have a single receiving touchdown all year.
When it’s all said and done, the Steelers are making a massive mistake by retaining Matt Canada. If this team is going to compete with the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens in the NFC north they need to make a change. Kenny Pickett has a long way to go to get into the same tier as Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson and Matt Canada won’t be the guy to get him there.