The Steelers made a shocking move last week when they removed offensive coordinator Matt Canada from the booth and completely removed him from the stadium. Now, the team is facing a major challenge as they try to figure out what to do next.
On one hand, the team is winning and relevant, with a 6-4 record heading into Thanksgiving weekend. But their offense has been struggling all season long, with no identity, no rhythm, and no clear strategy for roping a defense into thinking one thing was coming before doing something unexpected.
On Sunday, it was clear that the offense was still in disarray as running back Jaylen Warren carried the team’s scoring load with 10 points. It was also reported that receiver Diontae Johnson was carried away from a member of the coaching staff and head coach Mike Tomlin got involved in a kerfuffle on the sidelines. Running back Najee Harris also made post-game comments indicating that he was frustrated with the situation.
So what’s next? The Steelers are currently searching for more details on how their offense will operate moving forward, but it looks like someone else will be calling the shots. Eddie Faulkner has been named as running backs coach and Mike Sullivan will reportedly be calling plays. It’s not impossible to turn things around – after all, in December 2012, the Ravens fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and won the Super Bowl under Jim Caldwell – but it will take some serious work to get things right.
One of the biggest challenges facing Pittsburgh may be that Kenny Pickett just isn’t quite there yet as an NFL quarterback. While he has shown serviceable skills in his second season, he lacks big throws into tight spots and has limited mobility. It’s entirely possible that the Steelers got it wrong by making him a first-round pick in 2022 and they may be forced to consider bringing in another quarterback if things don’t improve soon. In fact, they have already been linked to Mitch Trubisky or even pivoting back to Mason Rudolph or Ben Roethlisberger depending on how things go over time