Steelers OC Matt Canada Tabbed as Head Coach Candidate

Could Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada be an NFL head coach candidate after 2023? If Kenny Pickett improves and the offense starts to show out, one pundit believes that very thing could happen. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted that he could see Canada picking up some serious buzz in NFL circles.

Appearing on 93.7 the Fan, Florio broke down the exact scenario where Canada could pick up that steam. It all comes down to carrying the preseason momentum into the regular season, but if it happens, Canada could be the guy that other teams want.

“Pickett and Canada will be regarded as two guys attached at the hip because Tomlin is a defensive guy. Well, you know, Canada certainly benefits from that,” Florio said. “If Pickett really takes off this year or next year, that really helps Canada because owners will look at it and give a lot of credit to the coach.”

Following that statement, Andrew Fillipponi followed up on that, and Florio stated that he believes Canada could end up as a head coach, or at least receive looks if the offense ends up improving and taking off. While the body of work does not support that, one year could change the minds of an owner, and suddenly, Canada could end up as a head coach.

“Isn’t that how it goes? The coaches from the teams with the best teams, best offenses, and best young quarterbacks who have done really well, that’s how it goes,” Florio said. “Those names end up bubbling on the list of coaching interviews because everyone wants to bring in that coach and quarterback and work together. If you’re hiring a coach nowadays with a young quarterback, you want to have an offensive coach is because if that young quarterback does well, that coordinator will get a lot of credit.”

Like the oldest of those offensive youngsters, Canada is entering his third season on the job as Steelers offensive coordinator, but the first two have not gone all that well. The Steelers finished 26th in scoring, 23 in yards and 28th in yards per play a year ago. About the only thing they did at a consistently high level was not turn the ball over, finishing tied for fifth with 19 giveaways.