Some teams in panic mode
With the stretch run about to begin, it’s the time when underperforming teams make moves out of panic or desperation. First, the Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, then Panthers coach Frank Reich took play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.
This past week, the 6-4 Steelers did something they hadn’t done in more than 80 years — fired a coach during the season, as Mike Tomlin axed offensive coordinator Matt Canada in his third year on the job. Running backs coach Eddie Faulkner took over as coordinator, and quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan will call plays.
It’s hard to argue that Canada got the most out of the offense. The Steelers ranked 21st and 26th in points in his two full seasons, and 28th this year. A worn-down Ben Roethlisberger became a checkdown champion in 2021 with Canada, his 6.2 yards per pass attempt a career low. And the offense has been dreadful in several key areas this year — 31st in passing yards (170 per game), 31st in touchdown passes (seven), 25th on third down, and 25th in the red zone.
Add in the evident frustrations between Canada and players such as receiver Diontae Johnson, and Tomlin likely had to fire Canada just to mollify the locker room and feed red meat to the fan base.
“I’m going to empower the guys around us,” Tomlin said. “We’re going to dot our i’s and cross our t’s the best we can in the hope that we go out there and put a good product out there to execute and score points.
“And if it doesn’t turn out, we get back in the lab the next week and we do the same thing and we just keep on trying to tweak the product until it’s what we desire.”
Of course, it’s a lot easier to fire the offensive coordinator than acknowledge the starting quarterback is no good. But Kenny Pickett, the Steelers’ 2022 first-round pick, has been a major disappointment this year, completing just 60.5 percent of passes with only six touchdowns, 6.1 yards per pass attempt, and a 79.2 passer rating that ranks 27th out of 32. It’s easy to blame Canada, but Pickett is responsible for his own performance.
While the Steelers are stuck with Pickett for this season, he is cheap enough ($4.6 million and two years remaining on his deal) that they easily could move on next year or find Pickett some competition.
As for Canada, he is the first coach fired midseason by the Steelers since co-owner/coach Bert Bell, the future NFL commissioner, fired himself in 1941. The Steelers started 0-2 that year under Bell and finished 1-9-1.
“He felt he was not doing a good job as head coach, so he went to his partner Art Rooney and said, ‘I’m firing myself,’ since he owned 50 percent of the Steelers,” Bell’s son, former Patriots general manager Upton Bell, said by e-mail. “I don’t think it ever happened again in NFL history. It was one of the great moves by a coach.”