PITTSBURGH — It’s been a little over a week since the Steelers were eliminated from the playoffs, and yet no news has come out of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex about the future of the team’s coaching staff, including offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
It turns out there’s a reason for the delay.
According to two members of the organization who were not authorized to speak publicly, staffing decisions have been put on hold while head coach Mike Tomlin is attending to a personal matter. Player exit meetings, expected to start this week, will be held virtually for those who have left town since the end of the season, one person said.
Historically, Tomlin had exit meetings with all players not long after the season ended and then made staff changes not long after. Tomlin hinted during his final press conference last week that he would take time to evaluate his team after the Steelers finished their last nine games with seven wins and narrowly missed the playoffs.
GO DEEPER
Steelers’ offense showed growth, but will it be enough to save Matt Canada’s job?
According to another team member, Canada was at the Steelers facility both last week and this week. Evaluation of the coaching staff could start sooner rather than later.
#Steeler have remained silent on Matt Canada’s firing/return to the front since the end of the season. Actually deafeningly quiet. However, I was told that he was only at the facility TODAY. You can read this in a number of ways, but for now the information is limited.
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) January 13, 2023
It was rare for Tomlin’s coaching staff to remain intact from year to year. Most recently after the 2016 season. Tomlin stuck with his original staff for the first three years of his career, but since then 27 assistant coaches have either been fired, retired or had their contracts not renewed.
With a small staff and the same head coach for 16 seasons, that’s a relatively high turnover from year to year.
Canada could be the next country to join this list.
The much-maligned coordinator has one more season under contract and the Steelers are usually reluctant to fire coaches. In his speech last week, Tomlin credited improvements to Canada but did not welcome him back.
“I thought he got better, just like our team got better,” said Tomlin. “I’m not going to speculate about him or anyone as I stand here today. … I’m just not there. We still have work to do but overall I thought he improved in the way we got better so it was encouraging.
Rating Canada is a tricky business for Tomlin.
The offense struggled with rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett in the first half of the season but looked better in the second half. There’s always a fear of Pickett being thrown back by a system change or if Canada returns and the offense remains conservative, as it was last year.
Steelers 2022 grades: Kenny Pickett, entire offense must be judged on one curve
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— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) January 12, 2023
In 13 of 17 games, the Steelers gained more than 300 yards, but they only had 30 points once and 20 points or more just eight times. In 34 games under Canada, the Steelers have only scored 30 points or more twice.
It’s unknown when Tomlin will start evaluating his coaching staff, but it’s about time.
Five head coaching positions and six offensive coordinator positions on teams that don’t need new head coaches remain open across the league, which could limit candidate choices if Tomlin decides to replace Canada. Kliff Kingsbury is reportedly not interested in coaching this year and Jim Caldwell is just looking at head coaching opportunities.
Names like Frank Reich, Nathaniel Hackett, Joe Brady, Mark Whipple, Brian Johnson, and Byron Leftwich (if he’s fired in Tampa Bay) have been brought out for the Steelers. Internal candidates to replace Canada if the organization decides to make a switch include running back coach Eddie Faulkner and quarterback coach Mike Sullivan.
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(Photo: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)