Steelers Rumors: O Canada, No more Canada. QB coach Mike Sullivan could step up as offensive coordinator
Two weeks into the 2023 season, Steelers fans are already calling for Matt Canada's head. No one can really blame them given the team's offensive performances of late.
Had the Steelers' defense not balled out in Week 2, Pittsburgh could very well be staring down a 0-2 start to the season with little to look forward to. Kenny Pickett has barely stepped forward, much less taken a Year 2 jump. Offensive starlets Najee Harris, George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth, and others haven't generated many big plays. As is the norm, the Steelers' offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, is baa-ing as the scapegoat and sitting squarely on the hot seat.
If the Steelers do decide to ditch Canada early this season, their OC solution could be staring them right in the face.
Kate Magdziuk of Behind The Steel Curtain proposed that the Steelers could elevate current quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan to offensive coordinator and see if things play out a little better.
Sullivan has been in the NFL since 2002, working his way up from a defensive coach in Jacksonville (he was a defensive back in his football-playing days) to a wide receivers coach with the Giants to his current position on the Steelers, among other stints in between.
He actually did serve as an offensive coordinator for four years in his career, doing a two-year stint in Tampa Bay and a two-year stint with the Giants. Sullivan didn't garner much statistical success as an OC with those two teams, but maybe his growth throughout his past three years in Pittsburgh will help buck that trend?
The biggest thing Sullivan has going for him, as Kat Magdziuk writes, is that he's an in-house candidate.
"If the Steelers were to finally move on from Canada, it's reasonable to look toward someone who Is familiar enough with the offense so that it would not have to go through a full overhaul midseason. It's also helpful to have someone in the mix who's been coaching second-year QB Kenny Pickett since he was drafted last season -- someone who's watched his development closely, knows his strengths, and more importantly, knows his weaknesses, and is willing to game-plan in a way that minimizes them."
After the first two games of the season, how worse can it get, anyway?
Steelers Rumors: Calvin Austin joins club of disgruntled Pittsburgh wideouts this season
Just days after George Pickens threw a bit of shade at Kenny Pickett, wide receiver Calvin Austin is airing out some of his grievances, too.
Despite Week 2's victory over the Browns, fans at Acrisure Stadium started chanting "Fire Matt Canada" late in the game. In the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh finished with -7 yards of offense, officially making this Steelers team 2022 Zach Wilson-levels of pitiful.
After the game, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Brian Batko asked a few Steelers players about the fan chants and most said they didn't hear it or didn't pay attention to it. Calvin Austin gave a slightly more intriguing answer: "It was in the heat of the game, so we kind of got off that. But, you know, fans pay their money. They can voice their opinions, their support, so they're welcome to do that."
Austin, who caught one pass on four targets for 10 yards, may be stirring the pot by seeming to condone fans' anger-laced chants directed at Matt Canada. Canada is in his third year as the team's offensive coordinator, and after Monday night's slopfest, Austin has a point. Steelers fans who paid money to watch good football have every right to voice their opinions through the first two weeks.
The 2022 fourth-rounder offered a glimmer of hope for the team in his final fighting words, telling Batko that the offense simply has to "execute on the field.... and give [the fans] a reason not to say anything [negative]."
The torturous Steelers season continues.
Steelers Rumors: Should Pittsburgh consider benching Pickett for Trubisky?
The worst-case scenario for the Pittsburgh Steelers is coming to life in 2023. FanSided's Mark Powell suggested that the franchise should seriously consider benching Kenny Pickett for at least a few games at the start of this season, and it's not hard to see why.
"I hate saying it as much as any Pittsburgh supporter, but could Mitch Trubisky be that much worse than Kenny Pickett? Through the better part of a season-plus, Pickett has yet to prove he can go through his progressions on a consistent basis."
Steelers fans have been quick to blame Matt Canada for the team's offensive struggles, but the quarterback deserves a share of that, too.
Pickett was bailed out in Week 2 thanks to his elite defense, and in Week 1, he threw two picks and looked flustered and unsteady all game. He faced a stout 49ers defense that week, but at some point, the excuses have got to stop. If Pickett keeps performing the way he is, the Steelers have Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph to potentially give him a mental breather.
Sit back, study the progressions, and figure out exactly what he needs to improve upon to be a consistent starter. It's not easy work, but such is the life of an NFL quarterback.
