Steelers: Main Reason Matt Canada was fired: Kenny Pickett
The Steelers wanted to fire OC. Since quarterback Kenny Pickett seems to have stagnated this season, Matt Canada was required.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are still very much in the running for the playoffs, but not because of their offence. Additionally, during their 16-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, the Steelers relieved offensive coordinator Matt Canada and gave quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan playcalling duties in an attempt to improve their struggling scoring attack.
While firing Canada didn’t exactly spark an instantaneous offensive turnaround for the Steelers, the front office felt like a change was necessary after quarterback Kenny Pickett, after a promising offseason, failed to make the leap many thought he’d make due to some of the handicaps the Canada-led offense placed on the 25-year old QB.
The following criticisms of Canada’s offensive scheme were mentioned by Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network: “Too many college concepts, poor spacing created, lack of an intermediate passing game, and lack of identity.” These sources had evaluated the Steelers’ offensive tape this season.
“But even with those problems, the biggest issue was second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett’s lack of progress, despite what team sources called ‘an outstanding offseason.'”
Even though the Steelers’ last game saw them score just 16 points, there were a few noteworthy changes that occurred with Mike Sullivan leading the offence. Using Kenny Pickett’s skill set far more effectively than Matt Canada ever could, Adam Caplan noted that “the deep ball returned and the badly needed intermediate passing game featuring tight end Pat Freiermuth was in full force.”
It will take time to see if the Steelers’ choice to give Sullivan playcalling responsibilities more than halfway through the season pays off handsomely, but things appear to be moving along nicely.
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