The One Big Change New Steelers OC Eddie Faulkner Will Make

PITTSBURGH — New Steelers interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner admitted that Rome can’t be built in one day. Will the scheme suddenly look vastly different? Probably not. It’s Week 12, and some tweaks will be made to maximize the talent on the offense; not everything can suddenly be flipped. But there is one area where Faulkner thinks he can make a difference: in the details.

Faulkner, even in the running back room, is someone who has preached the details. That comes down to communication and little areas that change the macro view of the play. Those can be fixed, and it seemed they were severely lacking under Matt Canada and his vision. Even if schematic changes are not wholesale, those detailed adjustments can be enough to spark the offense.

Pittsburgh Steelers interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner at practice on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

“Just me in general, I’m a detailed guy,” Faulkner said. “That’s how I operate. That’s how I operated the running back room, so that’s how I’m operating anything that has to do with the offense or staff. To make sure we’re squeezing down, being tightening up, closing all the space so when we go into a game the guys can execute and play fast. That’s the focus, and I feel like I can bring somebody to the table in that regard.”

Faulkner expressed bittersweet feelings about the opportunity he was granted at Canada’s expense. But this is the time for the Steelers to kick it into high gear for their playoff push. If the offense can even be an average group, that would greatly raise the floor for the team and allow them to compete with some of the better teams in the conference.

Faulkner understands the opportunity at hand, both for the team’s offense to right its play with a 6-4 start built it, and for his career. But he doesn’t exactly have time to wax rhapsodic about it. The Steelers made the change on Tuesday, and then got right back to practice on Wednesday as they prepare to face the Cincinnati Bengals in a crucial AFC North game this week.

Those details need to be sharp. The communication between everyone must be sharp. If those baseline things can at least improve, Pittsburgh’s offense, which is one of the worst units in football, can improve to one that has an average all-around showing week in and week out.

FULL COVERAGE of the Steelers Firing of Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada

🏈 Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan, the two internal candidates to replace Matt Canada, are currently the betting favorites. That makes sense, because five of the last six Steelers offensive coordinator hires have come from within the organization.

🏈 The Steelers will not be making “wholesale changes” to their offense, so what reasons are there for optimism that the unit will perform better after the firing of Matt Canada?

🏈 Pittsburgh players were surprised by the firing of Matt Canada, but hopeful that it can bring about big changes in the outcomes for the offense.

🏈 Sights & Sounds: First look at new offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner running practice on Wednesday.

🏈 News & Links: National reaction to the firing of Matt Canada. Is the pressure on Kenny Pickett now?

🏈 Mike Tomlin said the decision to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada was “mine and mine alone.”

🏈 Steelers Afternoon Drive: The Steelers fired Matt Canada. Now what?

🏈 The change at offensive coordinator might not tell us much that we already don’t know about quarterback Kenny Pickett. That is, unless it works, and his play improves this season.

🏈 Why did things go wrong between the Steelers and offensive coordinator, and what mistakes made along the way could have been avoided?

 🏈 Mike Tomlin explained why now was the time to fire Matt Canada: “This is a result-oriented business. And to be short, the improvements were not rapid enough or consistent enough for us to proceed.”

 🏈 Mike Tomlin said the Steelers did not consider bringing in someone from outside the organization to replace Matt Canada as offensive coordinator.

 🏈 Running backs coach Eddie Faulkner will be the offensive coordinator and Mike Sullivan will call plays after the Steelers’ firing of offensiver coordinator Matt Canada.

 🏈 After two and a half seasons, no 400-yard games, and no growth from Kenny Pickett, the Pittsburgh Steelers have finally fired offensive coordiantor Matt Canada.