Brooke PryorESPN Staff Writer September 19, 2023, 2:00 PM ET4 minutes read
Stephen A. begs Mike Tomlin to get rid of Steelers OC
Stephen A. doesn’t hold back when discussing Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada, insisting he needs to be fired.
PITTSBURGH – Less than 13 hours after a win, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin admitted his offense wasn’t performing at the level it did in the preseason.
Through two games, the Steelers’ offense is averaging 9.5 points per game and a league-low 12 first downs. On Monday night, Pittsburgh had only nine first downs and not a single play in the red zone in its 26-22 win against the Cleveland Browns.
And yet Tomlin said the solution is not to react “knee-jerk” to create “sweeping change.”
“We need to get our mojo back,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “We need to achieve the mojo we had in pre-season by playing quickly and fluidly with confidence individually and collectively. To be honest, we have lost that in the last few weeks.”
“…We recognize that two games is a pattern. We had two games that were not up to par in that regard and so that is our focus as we prepare for the next game.”
The 26 points the Steelers scored without a red zone effort were the team’s most in the past 45 years – and the most in the NFL since the Kansas City Chiefs scored 27 points against the New Orleans Saints in 2016.
The Steelers managed just one offensive touchdown in each of their first two games, a far cry from the five touchdowns the first team scored in five possession games the previous season. Pickett has been erratic so far this season, completing just 60.5% of his attempts – ahead of only starting quarterbacks Bryce Young, Joe Burrow, Bryce Young, Deshaun Watson and Zach Wilson.
“He did a lot of things well in preparation,” Tomlin said of Pickett. “He could play better – we could all play better – but procedurally I like what I see from him. And when a man is in the right place procedurally, performance usually soon follows.”
The running game is also stagnant with just 96 total rushing yards at an average of 3.1 yards per carry, which ranks 27th in the league. The Steelers have also fumbled 13 times this season, tied for the most in the league.
Since Matt Canada was named offensive coordinator in 2021, the Steelers’ offense has sputtered and struggled to move the ball consistently. Since then, every other NFL team has played at least three games with 400 total yards of offense; the Steelers had none.
“We don’t blame anyone. Obviously it starts with coaching,” Tomlin said of the offense’s slow start. “We have to train better. We have to get these guys to play faster and more fluidly. We have to start faster. We need to play more coordinated, especially in the early stages of games.”
Given the offensive woes ahead of the 2022 season, frustration among the fan base reached its peak on Monday night.
Steelers fans at Acrisure Stadium grew more restless with each punt Monday night, booing the offense as it came off the field after unsuccessful drives.
“It has to get us going,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said after the game. “Of course it’s never fun, but we have to learn from it and of course it’s more of a motivation to get the thing going. We love the fans here and of course they expect good football, so I will try to continue to get good football and wins for them.”
On the team’s seventh punt Monday night, a loud cry rang out around the stadium begging Tomlin to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
When asked about it on Tuesday, Tomlin didn’t criticize fans for their words.
“I appreciate her passion,” Tomlin said. “I share her passion. We all do that, man. We love our fans, man. They inspire us. They challenge us. It’s a great relationship, man. We don’t run away from challenges. We run towards challenges.”
“This is a sports entertainment business. It’s our job to win them over and therefore entertain them, and that’s why we don’t begrudge them that. We want them to be fat, naughty and spoiled. It’s our job.”