-
Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have made a bold move by firing offensive coordinator Matt Canada due to offensive inconsistencies and lack of improvement. This announcement was made by coach Mike Tomlin on Tuesday.
“I did not come to this decision lightly, to be really transparent with you,” Tomlin said. “It is my role to absorb and protect those that I work with, and this doesn’t feel like that. Obviously, I’m not interested in assigning blame or deflecting in any way.”
“I got a lot of respect for Matt personally and professionally. It was not easy, but I thought it was necessary. This is a results-oriented business, and to be short, the improvements were not rapid enough or consistent enough for us to proceed.”
Tomlin also emphasized he didn’t make the decision with general manager Omar Khan or team president and owner Art Rooney II.
“Leadership is lonely,” Tomlin said. “I don’t run from it. I run to it. It was mine and mine alone.”
Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference that running backs coach Eddie Faulkner will take over offensive coordinator duties, but quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan will take the “bulk” of the playcalling responsibilities. The Steelers are the only team in the league where the offensive playcaller is neither the offensive coordinator nor the head coach.
“The strength of the pack is the pack, and when you’re faced with challenges, I just think that’s the natural and appropriate thing, which is to distribute responsibility,” Tomlin said.
Canada, 51, had been the Steelers’ offensive coordinator since 2021.
His firing marks the first time the Steelers have made a head coach or coordinator change midseason since 1941, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. The Steelers rank 28th in points per game (16.6), 28th in offensive yards per game (280.1) and 31st in passing yards per game (170) this season. “You got to score touchdowns in this business,” Tomlin said. “You got to win games in this business, and just the totality of it has us where we are today.”
….
(Continues with the rest of the content)
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
