Steelers Will Not Fire OC Matt Canada In-Season

The Steelers have no plans to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada during the season, according to a report by Dianna Russini of the Athletic. That follows the line of public backing from Mike Tomlin and the players, who seem willing to play out the season with Canada at the helm.

“The Pittsburgh Steelers have no plans to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada or turn the play calling over to another coach on the staff, a person familiar with the situation shared this week,” Russini said. “I was told if a move was going to be made, it would have happened already. Though fans have criticized Canada and his play calling, Steelers players and coach Mike Tomlin have continued to show him support. I was told the team held a meeting this week to come together and search for some answers as they approach the bye week.”

Steelers OC Matt Canada pregame against the 49ers, Sept. 10, 2023 – Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

That makes sense as if the Steelers would have moved to fire him, and it would have made sense at the beginning of the bye week. Of course, if things worsen at some point in the season, Pittsburgh has two Thursday night games that offer mini-byes if they want to make a move. Their first Thursday night game comes in a few weeks when they welcome the Tennessee Titans on November 2nd to Acrisure Stadium. The second will be when the Patriots come to Pittsburgh on December 7th.

The Steelers have never fired a coordinator in-season and have rarely fired them. Usually, they move on after teh season once their contracts have expired.  The Steelers are in first place in the AFC North and have gotten off to a 3-2 start in their quest to return to the playoffs, so keeping Canada in place also seems to make sense for the team to meet its short-term goals.

Of course, other NFL teams are frequently less patient than Art Rooney II’s squad, and several have fired their offensive coordinator mid-season over the last few years. Specifically, seven NFL offensive coordinators have been fired in the middle of the season over the last six years. The earliest was in 2017, when the Cincinnati Bengals canned Ken Zampese after just two games. The latest was in 2018 when the Minnesota Vikings let John DeFilippo go after a Week 14 loss. Regardless, it does not seem, at this point, that Canada will go anywhere.