The Pittsburgh Steelers rank 31st in passing yards. Rushing yards? Also 31st. It's no secret that Matt Canada has been one of the least successful offensive coordinators in football since taking the Steelers job in 2021.
Despite a mountain of evidence against him, Canada continues to comfortably hold his job. Head coach Mike Tomlin, who is notoriously loyal to his assistants, has expressed confidence in Canada at every turn. He's not firing Canada any time soon.
It's bad enough for the Steelers to double down on a putrid offense. It's a failure on multiple fronts — failing the franchise, failing the fans, and failing the players.
Tomlin made it worse on Tuesday, however, when he refused to even engage with a question about another key Steelers flaw.
When asked about the Steelers' inability to contain No. 1 receivers, Tomlin brushed it off entirely.
"I'm not concerned about obscure stats like that at this juncture," he said. "Keep watching, seriously. I'm really not. Our objective is to win."
Mike Tomlin brushes aside Steelers' poor defense against top wide receivers
Sigh...
Any time a coach tells a reporter to "keep watching," it's generally a bad sign. It's one thing for coaches to operate as the authority in the room (they are), but it's another to completely belittle the knowledge of a questioner.
It's not even an opinion he is brushing aside. He is brushing aside statistical evidence — and frankly, yards gained by top wide receivers does not remotely qualify as an "obscure" stat. Nico Collins went for 168 yards. Davante Adams went for 172. Brandon Ayiuk for 129. You get the point. It's a problem. A totally valid point of conversation.
On the whole, Pittsburgh's defense is quite imposing. T.J. Watt spearheads a vaunted pass rush and the Steelers have eked out a 3-2 record despite a severely negative point differential. The defense is why Matt Canada still has his job and the Steelers are still in the AFC North title hunt.
It's understandable for Tomlin to express confidence in his group. He should. But, there are ways to talk up your players without completely sidestepping a legitimate question. With the Canada mess unfolding and so much concern about the Steelers' ability to maintain a winning pace, the optics here are just terrible. Tomlin has to exercise better awareness.
Tomlin is one of the most accomplished head coaches in the NFL. He deserves a measure of freedom and a significant benefit of the doubt. But... it has been three years of Canada. The results aren't going to change. Factor in the Steelers' tendency to give up explosive plays to receivers, and it's not hard to emerge from Pittsburgh's surprise 3-2 start as a hardened skeptic.
Stuff has to change, whether Tomlin admits it publicly or not.
