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"Matt Canada has been relieved of his duties as
offensive coordinator. I appreciate Matt's hard work and
dedication and I wish him the best moving forward in his
career," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement Tuesday.
Canada became offensive coordinator in 2021 and was tasked with
leading the Steelers' transition from Ben Roethlisberger at
quarterback. Pittsburgh's first-round pick in 2021 was Najee
Harris, who was one of loudest voices suggesting a change was
necessary on Sunday. Wide receiver George Pickens has been vocal
about his own frustration this month.
Tomlin had resisted calls for Canada to be replaced, denying
that a change would bring the fix fans and some in the media
were clamoring for as the Steelers were outgained in total yards
in every game.
Running backs coach Eddie Faulkner and quarterbacks coach Mike
Sullivan are being promoted to a co-op role at offensive
coordinator. Sullivan is expected to call plays.
Quarterback Kenny Pickett is 25th in the NFL in passing yards
and is among a group tied at 28th -- it includes benched Jets QB
Zach Wilson and Desmond Ridder of the Falcons -- with six TD
passes.
Harris is 13th in the AFC -- one spot ahead of teammate Jaylen
Warren -- with 499 rushing yards this season. He's tied for 23rd
in the NFL with former Steelers running back James Conner
(Cardinals), who was recently activated from injured reserve.
"You could do two things," Harris said. "You could look at the
record and say, 'OK, we're still good right now.' Or we could
look at the record and be like, 'If we keep playing this type of
football, how long is that s--- going to last?' I look at it
like, 'How long that s--- going to last?' Y'all could look at it
like it's a good record, but I mean it's the NFL. Winning how we
did, it's not going to get us nowhere."
Canada, 51, was the Steelers' quarterbacks coach for one season
before becoming offensive coordinator.
Pittsburgh will meet the Bengals on Sunday in Cincinnati.
--Field Level Media
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