The score is ten to eight with a minute left on the clock. Kenny Pickett, the Steelers’ quarterback, stands in shotgun formation and audibles the O-line to pass block and calls for the streak down the right sideline. Pickett snaps the ball and wide receiver, George Pickens, beats his defender off the ball. Seeing this, Pickett throws a perfect ball right into Pickens’s hands which leads to the game-winning touchdown over their rival, the Baltimore Ravens. The whole city of Pittsburgh erupts. Everybody from fans to players to coaches was going crazy, except for one, Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada. This act of stupidity was only the cherry on top when referring to his actions during his tenure. The city of Pittsburgh and all of its fans have called for a replacement for this disappointment of a coach.
Canada is from the nearby town of New Palestine, Indiana, where he led his high school team with 1,700 passing yards and a twenty-to-three record. His passion for football led him to be a graduate assistant for Indiana University, and quickly led him to a job at Butler. Throughout the 2000s, he jumped around from different schools like Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. He had very successful tenures here, but this started a downward spiral for Canada. From 2013 to 2018, he went from NC State, Pittsburgh, LSU (Louisiana State University), and Maryland. At Maryland, Matt would take control of the team fail to qualify for a bowl game, and lose his job to Mike Locksley. After going a year unemployed, the Steelers signed Canada as a Quarterbacks Coach, which quickly turned into an Offensive Coordinator position with the firing of Randy Fichtener.
You may be asking the same question I did, “Why the heck did they hire this guy?” The hiring of Canada was met at a bad time for the Steelers organization. The dominant era of the 2000s and 2010s came to an end when star receiver, Antonio Brown, went on a legal rollercoaster that led to him parting ways from the team mid-season in 2018. The parting of Brown led to all-pro running back, Le’Veon Bell, leaving the organization as well on an unfavorable note. Despite these roadblocks, “Big Ben” Roethlisberger led a primarily young team to playoff seasons. In 2020, the Steelers started off with eleven straight wins and a look at a championship in sight. This was met with four losses in the last five games and a terrible loss in the Wild Card Round. This can be blamed on the primarily young receiving core that cared more about Tik-Toks rather than their careers. According to Statmuse, Pittsburgh ranked dead last in rushing yards average and 30th in passing yards average per game. The team was carried by the “Steel Curtain”, the top-ranked defense led by head coach Mike Tomlin. This defense gave Matt Canada many chances to score, yet the offense failed to return the favor. 2021 did not favor Canada either, ending the season with nine wins, seven losses, and a tie. Another Wild Card loss led “Big Ben” to retire, so the team turned to the draft.
With the twentieth pick in the 2022 draft, the Steelers selected quarterback Kenny Pickett out of the University of Pittsburgh. The Heisman finalist was drafted with All-American running back out of Alabama, Najee Harris. These players showed a lot of promise in their careers but needed time to fully develop into stars. Canada did not think this, however, as he started Pickett and started the season with only three wins through ten games. As the season progressed, Canada started veteran quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who gave Pickett some key advice to earn his starting spot back and finish the year with a nine-win to eight-loss record.
Going into 2023, rumors of Canada’s departure spread in the minds of hopeful Steelers fans. National Tragedy hit on January 18, 2023, however, when Nick Shook of NFL.com confirmed his return for the following season. As the season started, the typical Pittsburgh style of play was going to stay for another year as well. With a one and one start, the Steelers fans started their uproar. During the Week Two game versus the Browns, Canada calls for a quarterback run on a crucial third down. After the three-yard loss, the fans chanted, “Fire Matt Canada” over and over. This chant “opened up” Canada to the fans’ disapproval. Responding to this, Canada told AP News, “There’s nothing wrong with their passion and those things … We’re not running away from it. We expect to be better. We’re going to be better. I firmly believe that.” This quote was clearly just brushing the issue under a rug because over his tenure he has done nothing but ruin this historic offense that the program has been known to have. The next week, the same offense occurred, with Pickett forcing throws into clogged receivers and missing wide-open deep shots.
It was clear that all of this backlash got to the best of him. On October 5, 2023, Sports Illustrated reported on a proven rumor about Canada’s Twitter presence. An X (formerly known as Twitter) user uncovered an account that was backing up Canada’s playcalling when responding to angry fans. This account was traced back to Canada’s work email, out of all things. The IQ of this man clearly has to be double-digits in order to pull a move like that. Not only is his playcalling being exposed, but his social media is as well. Simultaneously to this, a video surfaced of Canada celebrating a win that was mainly defensively run. Veteran kicker Chris Boswell responded to this in the locker room with the comment, “It ain’t because of you.” It is clear that Matt has lost all hope and is determined to bring the Steelers organization down with him. Over the last weeks, we have seen protests from NHL games to ‘College Gameday’ fighting for this cause. Matt Canada’s termination is mandatory if the organization wants to get back to the dynasty it once was.
