The Pittsburgh Steelers are an organization known for both loyalty and consistency. Ben Roethlisberger remained with the franchise for all 18 seasons of his professional career and his coach for the majority of that time was Mike Tomlin. Many may forget how truly dominant he was due to the offense's ineptitude under Matt Canada in Roethlisberger's final year of his career in 2021. The Canada-led group continued to stall after the legendary signal-caller's retirement and the growth of Kenny Pickett was significantly affected. Now that Canada was fired after Week 11, many are wondering who actually made the decision to relieve him of his duties.
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Former Steelers Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada during a 2022 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
After the Steelers seemed to have a more fluid offensive performance in Week 12 after Canada was fired, the unit still only produced 16 points and followed that up with only 10 against an unimpressive Arizona Cardinals squad in Week 13. Overall, more of the same issues persisted and it's fair to question if Pickett is the guy going forward after one clear issue in Canada was moved on from.
In relation to Canada's firing, legendary quarterback and future Hall of Famer, Ben Roethlisberger broke down the disappointing loss on his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. In an episode released on Tuesday morning, he and co-host, Spencer Te'o, discussed the decision to fire Canada. Te'o asked Roethlisberger if he thinks the franchise made the move because of the overall disappointment from fans. Roethlisberger didn't seem to think so.
"I don't think it's 'cause of the uproar. I really don't believe it's because of the uproar."
Roethlisberger talked about the move and expressed his feelings on the idea of Art Rooney II catering to an infuriated fan base. Regardless, the former two-time Super Bowl champion doesn't think the owner is listening to the large group buying tickets for games.
"I think he cares what people say 'cause he loves the brand, he loves the team. It's like his family, always has been. I still, at the end of the day, don't think he's making decisions because of what the fans say."
The comments from Roethlisberger are fair. Rooney isn't making business decisions based off of "Fire Canada" chants. That doesn't mean, however, that he didn't hear them in the stadium.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers President, Art Rooney II roams the sidelines prior to a 2022 preseason matchup at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
Te'o also asked Roethlisberger about his opinion on the average fan's ability to sway decisions within a multi-billion dollar organization. The former quarterback believes that certain people are paid the big bucks to make the business decisions.
"I would like to think that it doesn't. At the end of the day, the decision-makers, it's about a business... 'You can say what you want, but I know what we got.'"
Roethlisberger wanted to confirm the fact that despite the fan base's frustrations, tickets are still being sold and the money in still flowing in for the Steelers organization, even if the on-field product has been poor.
"They're still coming to the games. They're still paying the money to do it."
Steelers fans have been spoiled for quite some time. The franchise is recognized as one of the NFL's best, but retaining Canada and horrible offensive play struck a nerve that even Rooney couldn't ignore. Roethlisberger might not believe that the decision to fire him was based on an upset fan base, but it's impossible not to at least consider it being a factor.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Former Steelers Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada braces for the cold weather in Pittsburgh during a team practice at the UPMC Sports Complex.
Steelers Likely To Need Complete Overhaul Of Offensive Staff In 2024
It's up for debate as to whether ownership truly heard the fans' cries for a change in the offensive coaching room. The fact of the matter is, the true answer to fixing the unit is probably not in the building currently. The NFL is no longer a defensive-minded league and Rooney, Tomlin, and anyone else making decisions, needs to get with the program before a once-proud franchise loses traction with its loyal following.
Do you agree with Roethlisberger? Did Rooney and/or Tomlin care at all about the Steel City being infuriated with Canada's presence? Let us know in the comments below!
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