Report: Steelers Will Hire Offensive Line Coach Before Officially Promoting Matt Canada

The Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly waiting to hire their next offensive line coach before officially announcing the promotion of quarterbacks coach Matt Canada to offensive coordinator, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac.

According to Dulac, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin’s desire to ensure the team’s next offensive line coach meshes with Canada’s philosophy has resulted in the delay.

In addition to parting ways with the offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner last Thursday, the Steelers also moved on from offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett. Sarrett had spent nine years with the Steelers organization, the last two leading the offensive line. He took over the position from his mentor Mike Munchak in 2019, who left Pittsburgh to take the same role with the Denver Broncos.

The aging Steelers offensive line struggled during the 2020 campaign, as Pittsburgh owned the league’s worst rushing offense at just 84.4 yards per game. The unit only allowed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to be sacked 13 times all season, but the quarterback rarely held the ball long enough on pass plays to be reached, which was likely by design.

Tight end coach James Daniel also retired since the end of the season and Canada’s promotion would create a vacancy at quarterbacks coach.