The Pittsburgh Steelers have a unique way of doing business in the NFL. They’ve been in the Rooney family since their inception and hopefully will be for as long as professional football is in Pittsburgh. Art Rooney II operates the franchise with many of the same principles of his father and grandfather. Whether fans and observers agree with decisions is irrelevant to the organization, the Steelers do what they think is right and then move forward.
Post-Gazette
Steelers’ Art Rooney and his family have owned the Pittsburgh NFL franchise since 1933
Luckily, the fans of the organization rarely disagree with the big decisions. The patience that the team has shown in the Super Bowl era with Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin has paid off, with only seven losing seasons since they drafted Terry Bradshaw with the first overall pick in 1970. It has not always been pretty, but the organization's consistency is almost mind-numbing.
During their tenures, Noll and Cowher took real turns on the coaching hot seat. Dan Rooney strongly considered firing Noll in 1988. Cowher’s three-year playoff drought at the turn of the century was a real issue in Pittsburgh. Tomlin has been on the hot seat with the fans, but never seriously in trouble with the organization. However, his decision to retain Matt Canada, or at least someone in the organization’s decision to retain him, angered fans after two mediocre offensive performances in 2021 and 2022.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin (right) and offensive coordinator Matt Canada (left) laugh with one another at a practice during training camp.
The Steelers don’t fire coaches who are under contract. Canada’s contract provided for him to be the offensive coordinator in 2023. He remained despite viable options like Byron Leftwich, Pep Hamilton, Charlie Batch, and the persistent pipedream of Ben Roethlisberger agreeing to return as an offensive coordinator. Steeler Nation has collectively hoped for the best and braced for the worst, anticipating the 2023 Pittsburgh offense.
Steelers Offense Amazing Preseason Results Drawing Significant Praise For Matt Canada
A funny thing happened over the last two preseason games. Kenny Pickett clearly has taken a step forward. Shockingly, Canada is suddenly being touted as a good offensive coordinator by local and national media members. On Monday, Steeler Nation’s Stuart Miller-Davis wrote about Josh Rowntree from 93.7 The Fan hitching up the Canada Bandwagon.
“His (Canada) offense last night, last week, and from all we’ve heard in camp looks not only competent, which is a step up from last year, but it might be pretty good,” Rowntree said.
One local team observer does not make a consensus, but when it gets paired with the sentiment espoused on the NFL Network's Good Morning Football on Monday morning, the dedicated Canada haters club (also known informally as the DHC), has to take notice. Mike Garafolo, who works for the NFL Network, dropped his take on the Steelers offense.
“What they need to do is let Matt Canada cook,” Garafolo exclaimed. “They have got to open up this offense. Canada came from college, and he was gonna come with all these newfangled ideas and these motions. I feel like he has been kind of constrained to do things the way the Steelers want.”
This is helicopter national media reporting at its finest or worst, depending on your perspective. It directly contradicts what another NFL Network analyst Steve Smith espoused on Christmas Eve 2022 after he watched Pickett lead a come-from-behind victory against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Steelers coordinator was called out for being too ‘Saturdayish’ in his playcalling.
Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett throws a pass vs Las Vegas Raiders.
Canada was brought in to spice up the Steelers offense in 2021 during Roethlisberger’s final season. The offense was bad in 2021 and worse in 2022. Contrary to the sudden change in popular opinion, jet sweeps and ill-timed tight-end screens are not offensive innovations.
In all fairness, let’s take the newfound revelations that Canada is not just competent, but has been constrained by a Hall of Fame quarterback in his final season and a rookie signal-caller. Is Canada suddenly the best offensive coordinator in the AFC North? Shockingly, the answer is probably yes.
The Baltimore Ravens brought in Todd Monken to transition away from the Greg Roman offense built around Lamar Jackson’s skill set. Monken has been coaching since 1989 and has exactly two years of offensive coordinator experience in the NFL with the 2018 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 2019 Cleveland Browns. He most recently coordinated two consecutive National Championships for the Georgia Bulldogs. Monken’s college resume is impressive, but he is an incomplete NFL product at best.
Getty Images
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin shakes hands with Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor.
The Browns and Cincinnati Bengals have offensive coordinators on the payroll, but head coach's Kevin Stefanski and Zac Taylor run their respective offenses. Alex Van Pelt is the Browns offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He is not the play-caller for the Browns offense. Brian Callahan is the Bengals coordinator, but like Van Pelt, he does not call the plays for his offense.
Canada has two years of NFL coordinator experience calling plays and an 18-15 record to Monken’s 11-21 combined NFL record. The advantage has to go to Canada based on a minimal professional football sample size. Depending on your perspective, Van Pelt and Callahan are tied below for third or last because they do not call plays. The Browns are exceedingly comfortable finishing last in the division, so last place it is.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada stares into the distance during a 2022 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
It might be by default, but Canada should be ranked as the best offensive coordinator in the AFC North. The next DHC meeting is going to be a little awkward. Yes, we have T-shirts, and we are not getting rid of them, just yet. If the Steelers continue the offensive barrage against the San Francisco 49ers in three weeks though, it just might be time to consider stopping the automatic membership renewal.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Is Canada the best offensive coordinator in the AFC North? Let me know what you think. Please comment below or on my TwitterX: @thebubbasq.
#SteelerNation
