On Oct. 1, 2023, the Steelers lost in shocking fashion against the Houston Texans as their offense still could not find an answer against a very young defense. Following the embarrassing loss, many stuck to the reoccurring theme that Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada, needs to be fired as he is the problem in all of this.
At the beginning of this season, it looked as though it was going to be a very bright season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is typically said every year as Mike Tomlin is still their head coach. During the Pre-Season, second year Quarterback, Kenny Pickett put up very impressive numbers during the three-game stretch. Seeing this, most NFL fans believed that he could have his big Sophomore breakout year.
The Steelers team overall going into week one was stacked on both sides of the ball. On offense, there was Kenny Pickett, a young Quarterback looking to take the next big step, but you also had numerous weapons on offense including Wide Receivers Allen Robinson, George Pickens and Diontae Johnson. The Running Back room was also a very impressive one, including both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Pat Freiermuth was also the starting Tight End. On defense, there was former Defensive Player of the Year, T.J. Watt, Cameron Hayward, Alex Highsmith and Patrick Peterson.
With all this talent, Pittsburgh managed to go 2-1. They looked to have a consistent start, until they faced the Texans. In this game, they were picked apart until the very end.
Following the poor performance by the Steelers offense, Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada said, “They’re not quite built to come back from big leads.” This upset numerous fans, many of them believe that it was a stupid thing to say, since that is technically his job to build them to be able to come back from a lead. This very quote sent social media into a spiral, and had many people saying he should be fired.
The Steelers have a tougher schedule than most teams, and the hope for them is that they can rely on defense, but also do what needs to be done on the other side of the ball. There is also a chance that Matt Canada’s time coaching the Steelers could be over if they cannot produce wins.
