The Pittsburgh Steelers recognized the painful lack of offensive production that their team was putting forth every single week under Matt Canada, and so following their 2023 Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns, Canada was relieved of his duties as offensive coordinator. With such a massive move shaking the city of Pittsburgh to life on Tuesday morning, the next question was how much would change now that the fans got what they had been chanting about for months, and maybe even years. While the offense may improve, former Steelers safety Ryan Clark doesn't see the Canada firing as enough to put Pittsburgh into the 2023 postseason.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett and running back Najee Harris need to live up to their pedigree for the 2023 Steelers to find more success
Steelers Still Have Steep Road To 2023 Playoffs
Clark was with the Steelers from their 2006 season until March of 2014, and during that time, he earned himself a reputation as a hard-hitting safety who started in two Super Bowls for the Steelers with one championship victory. Clark brings an NFL veteran's perspective to his takes on the game, but he also understands the Steelers on a personal level, so his views on what is happening in Pittsburgh hold more weight than others.
On ESPN's Get Up on Friday, Clark was asked how much improvement the Steelers firing of Canada would bring to the team. Sitting at 6-4 on the razor's edge of the postseason cut-off, Clark doesn't think that removing Canada from his post will be enough to fully right the ship for Pittsburgh.
"I mean, I believe it like I believed in Santa Claus up until I was about ten years old."
Despite making their first in-season coaching change since 1941, Clark can't see the Steelers using this move as a catalyst for a playoff run down the stretch of 2023. Just because the Steelers are one of the more stable franchises in the NFL doesn't exclude them from the common downfall after a major move in the coaching staff. Usually, making this kind of shift after the halfway point of the season doesn't lead to a sudden positive rise in results for that team.
Clark expects Pittsburgh to bring about change on the offensive side of the football, but not that the duo of Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan as interim offensive coordinator and play-caller, respectively, will create anything revolutionary.
"I don't know, necessarily, what the changes that Mike Sullivan is going to make as a play-caller, but it has to be better! It has to rely on Jaylen Warren."
Faulkner and Sullivan will be under a microscope, as will the entire Pittsburgh offense moving forward. Win or lose, what everyone will be looking for is some semblance of a game plan rather than the sandlot football we've been getting for three years.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Pittsburgh Steelers' former Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada won't be around to hold Kenny Pickett or the offense back with his firing following Week 11 of 2023
Steelers' Pickett's Seat Is Certainly Getting Warm
Now that the chants to fire Canada can stop, everyone will shift to watching Kenny Pickett like a hawk. The narrative was that because Canada was inept at his job, Pickett's progression was stunted even though he was seen as practically NFL-ready when he was drafted in 2022.
Matt Freed / Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett has no more Matt Canada excuses in 2023, so it's all on him to prove that he is worthy of his first-round status
Clark didn't come out and say that Pickett isn't the guy for the Steelers' future, but he certainly knows the pressure that the second-year quarterback is going to be under. Without the Canada excuse to cover for his lack of accuracy and inability to read the field, everyone wants to know if Pickett can become what the Steelers believed him to be when they picked him in the first round in 2022. According to Clark, Pickett will need to show a great deal more for him to be seen as a franchise quarterback.
"You know what, I don't necessarily put him on the hot seat, but it's warm as h***. He's trying to figure out can he be the quarterback or the franchise quarterback of this team. Can you make plays in quarters one, two, and three and not always have to be counted on in the last five minutes of the game? They have to use the middle of the field."
There's no reason left for Pickett not to turn the ball loose and start getting his many weapons involved in the game. In the 11 weeks of football that the Steelers have played in 2023, not once have the fans walked away feeling like the offense had fluidity or cohesion. Hopefully, with the assumed issue removed from the scene, the Steelers can prove that their 2023 preseason wasn't just a fluke.
Will Kenny Pickett finish 2023 with more than 2,500 yards passing? How many touchdowns will he finish with?
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