Former Steelers Player Calls for Matt Canada to Fired

Matt Canada’s tenure as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator has not gone as planned, and former Steelers guard Trai Essex feels Canada’s time in the position should be up.

Before Sunday’s game was through, Essex tweeted and expressed his frustration with Canada’s inability to get anything going for the Kenny Pickett-led Steelers attack. Essex played on the Steelers’ offensive line from 2005-11.

He’s got to go. We have seen more than enough.

— Trai Essex (@TraiDay79) October 30, 2022

Mediocre numbers support his opinion.

For the second week in a row, the offense failed to score more than a single touchdown. In all but five of Canada’s 26 games behind the play sheet, the unit has been held under 20 points.

The Steelers have posted 298.8 yards per contest, which is better than only four other teams. No different than in recent years, the ground game has been lackluster. 

Pittsburgh, which is averaging 94.9 rushing yards per week, is one of eight squads to run for less than 100 yards an outing. For a crew that took a tailback in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, that’s a dreary statistic.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has remained headstrong in keeping Canada up to this point, shooting down any notion of making a change. Indirectly or not, several players have made their thoughts on game-planning and results known.

Some worry about the effect that a fourth offensive coordinator in as many years would have on Pickett’s development. But, after Sunday’s 35-13 defeat to Philadelphia, the rookie triggerman voiced his displeasure with the offense’s collective performance.

Sitting three games behind first-place Baltimore in the AFC North standings, playoff hopes are fleeting. The way it looks, Pittsburgh has better odds of having the first overall pick in next spring’s draft.

The fan base is past the point of being frustrated. Expect the noise around Canada to get louder if he’s still around after the bye week.