On November 21, 2023, the Pittsburgh Steelers finally fired Matt Canada, the worst offensive coordinator in the history of the franchise’s modern era. It was a tumor that needed removed since its introduction to the franchise.
From the beginning, it was abundantly clear Canada was unqualified for the position. It was hard to imagine he could do worse than his predecessor, Randy Fichtner, a quarterbacks coach with no play-calling experience who nosedived the offense. The black and gold’s long-time identity of running the ball was scrapped for a pass happy unit that outright refused to carry the rock, finishing in the bottom five in rushing all three years of his tenure. When Fichtner’s contract conveniently expired after a 48-37 embarrassment in a home playoff game against Cleveland, Canada was instantly promoted, a coaching approach the Steelers have entertained for far too long.
Canada had no play-calling experience at the NFL level either and even though Fichtner’s tour solidified him as the worst offensive coordinator in the Steelers modern era, Pittsburgh decided repeating the same failed talent evaluation was a good process. Canada would spend 44 games with the organization and fail to produce a 400-yard game of offense in any of them, creating one of the longest droughts in NFL history. Canada had a terrifying fear of attacking the middle of the field, a fear easily recognized in the quarterback heat maps released after each game.
Quarterback heat maps are meant to show which areas of the field are targeted highly compared to others and in the middle of the field, week after week? Ice cold blue. Rather than force the defense to defend every blade of grass, Canada willingly took 20 yards of it off the table, free of charge.
Canada stubbornly refused to adjust to the modern NFL, continuing to roll out elementary to ancient route concepts that resulted in multiple defenders on opposing teams saying they knew what to expect.
The offense rarely managed 20 points, an alarmingly low bar for an NFL offense and was an extraordinaire at three-and-outs and not scoring in the first quarter but finally, after nearly three full years of historically bad production, Canada was fired.
The termination date was noteworthy. It was a Tuesday.
Very, very rarely would a coach be fired on a Tuesday. Coaches are fired on Mondays so as to give new employees as much time to prepare for the next contest as possible, leaving many to believe Tomlin wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger. Owner Art Rooney II did.
Tomlin for six years has employed yes men as underlings, coaches with little to no innovative ideas so as to not surpass or overtake his authority. His reluctance to hold anyone accountable for poor results has become a calling card of the once quality coach. All searches for new coaching candidates almost always suspiciously end with promoting someone in-house and their incompetence in said roles then becomes a continual frustration of Tomlin’s in post-game pressers when questioned about the on-field product’s lack of execution and cohesion.
For Tomlin’s boss to step in and do what should have been done years ago suggests Tomlin may finally be losing his grip on power, a welcome taste of happiness for a thirsting fan base.
If there was any expectation Canada’s termination would be the final solution to the wasteland of failing Steelers football, the answer was quickly determined but not before an oasis appeared.
False Hope
In the team’s first game without Canada at the helm, Pittsburgh accumulated over 400 yards of offense against a Burrow-less Cincinnati, ending a 58-game quagmire. It was the first time in the 2023 season the Steelers managed more yards and plays than their opponent. Pittsburgh did not have a three-and-out, quarterback Kenny Pickett had a season-high in passing yards and tight end Pat Freiermuth had career highs in receptions (9) and yardage (120).
The Steelers run game had picked up steam in its last several games and Najee Harris had one of his best games as a pro, finishing a peg under 100 yards but despite it all, the Steelers still only managed 16 points in yet another narrow win, a 16-10 win against backup quarterback Jake Browning.
Here’s a truth many in the fan base and media won’t want to hear: Matt Canada the person is gone but the philosophy and more specifically, his playbook, is still there.
Playbooks are installed during training camp and come the middle of the season, fully revamping an offense simply isn’t possible, not even for a great coordinator. You can introduce new concepts, sure but the majority of the game script will be the same. You can run the ball more, try targeting certain areas of the field (the heat map for the Bengals game was lukewarm in the middle) but the majority of the failed schematics remain.
This is why offseason changes to not just roster but coaching are so extremely important. If Rooney and Tomlin did not have full confidence in Canada (his results suggested there should be no confidence at all), he needed terminated after the 2022 season and a new OC and scheme introduced. Alas, making changes to anything in Pittsburgh is greatly frowned upon, even if it will objectively improve things. Pittsburgh is the deranged man holding onto a buoy in a hurricane, convinced the storm will pass rather than climb the ladder dropped down by the Coast Guard.
Quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan and running backs coach Eddie Faulkner are not revolutionary gridiron artists. They, and you may be shocked to hear this, have little to no play-calling experience. They are only able to make minor tweaks to a totaled vehicle. The vehicle will remain totaled.
One week later…
The Answer
Following what felt like a promising and cautiously hopeful performance, the Arizona Cardinals came to Acrisure Stadium. Star quarterback Kyler Murray had missed most of the season recovering from an ACL tear and between that and a rebuilding roster, Arizona arrived with a 2-10 record.
Pittsburgh, hot in the playoff race at 7-4, had a prime opportunity at hand, especially after losing to rookie Donovan Thompson-Robinson and the Browns two weeks prior in what felt like a missed win.
Pittsburgh would lose 24-10 at home. Pickett would fall injured yet again and Pittsburgh would be blown out, their third loss of 14+ points this season.
Since the end of the 2020 season, Pittsburgh has lost by 14+ nine times.
They’ve lost by double digits 12 times in 47 games, more than a quarter of their contests.
That feels like a lot but the second set of data is far more alarming.
Since the end of the 2020 season, Pittsburgh has won a game by 14+ once and by double-digits only three times.
The range of outcomes for a Pittsburgh Steelers game? Win by one possession, lose by one possession or get utterly decimated.
They rarely decisively beat anyone and because of that, every game, including ones against supposed inferior opponents, is losable.
So when the New England Patriots, another 2-10 football team, came into Acrisure Stadium this Thursday, just four days after the Cardinals disaster, something should have been abundantly clear: this would not be a Steelers blowout.
It didn’t matter that New England had scored 13 points in three games, one lonely touchdown. Mike Tomlin teams keep other teams in the contest, seemingly at all costs.
There’s a national narrative that Tomlin’s teams are always competitive when in reality Tomlin makes games competitive that shouldn’t be for the opposition.
In a game that had an over-under of 30, few points were expected to be scored. Pittsburgh, fresh after multiple players said the team overlooked Arizona, showed they did not learn their lesson.
New England scored a touchdown on their first drive. Pittsburgh would respond with a field goal from the ever-reliable Chris Boswell, sadly one of the best players on the team, before an exchange of punts between the two inept attacks.
Backup quarter Mitch Trubisky would throw an interception under pressure into triple coverage, providing the Patriots with a short field. New England’s backup quarterback Bailey Zappe would zing one over the middle to tight end Hunter Henry, a position the black and gold has struggled to defend since seemingly the beginning of the sport and the Patriots would find themselves once again comfortably leading in Pittsburgh for what felt like the billionth time of the century. Different year, same story.
Two consecutive three-and-outs from the black and gold, returning to their favorite pastimes, would enable a Zappe dart down the left sideline over the outstretched hand of safety Damontae Kazee to Henry yet again and a dominant 21-3 New England lead.
A Steelers touchdown late in the second quarter would squeeze the deficit to 11. On the second Patriots possession of the second half, Zappe would make a costly mistake, throwing an interception that, if not for running back Ezekiel Elliott’s hustle back, would have resulted in a pick-six for the Steelers.
On 3rd-and-9, Trubisky would scramble and slide well short of the line to gain in a play where a first down was possible if he was willing to take a hit.
Plays like this, where success is possible and a player in this case literally chooses not to, are maddeningly frustrating to watch for any football fan.
The following 4th-and-2 resulted in a flustered Trubisky dishing it to running back Jaylen Warren, who was unable to make the line to gain. Turnover on downs.
Pittsburgh would get another chance after a blocked punt and a questionable defensive pass interference call in the end zone put the ball on the Patriots goal line, where the Steelers would net a touchdown and two-point conversion but the offense would need to broach the dreaded 20-point threshold to overcome the Patriots 21.
New England, who would fail to register six plays on any of their six second half drives, were almost daring Pittsburgh to win but the Canada playbook does not allow for 20 offensive points.
The last gasp of hope was on a 4th-and-2, after Trubisky misfired twice on 10-yard passes. Rather than attempt a first down conversion, Trubisky chucked a 40-yard prayer for a flag to Diontae Johnson. Incomplete, game over. When you can’t throw accurately 10 yards, try 40.
When questioned about it after the game, Tomlin said that “Ref, please help us” was the designed play call.
The Steelers Curse Continues
In yet another installment of this series (this is now the fourth chapter, chapters 1, 2, and 3 linked), it is revealed Matt Canada was but a tumor of the larger cancer.
Like Fichtner before him, Canada was but a causation of the infestation of Mike Tomlin. With no playoff wins since 2016, this 2023 season will be seven years without a playoff win, the longest drought in Steelers history in the Super Bowl era.
His last five days got Tomlin another record: the first team to be over .500 and lose back-to-back games to teams at least eight games under .500.
Both of these games were at home.
With the Tomlin tenure now reaching a new low, one would think this would be the breaking point, that surely this is the last year of the neverending mediocrity of non-losing season Mike Tomlin but I’m sure the national media today will discuss the grit and resolve Tomlin demonstrated in getting his team within reach of overcoming an 18-point home deficit to the worst offense in professional football.
Yes, competitive indeed.
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