Early Tuesday morning, the world woke up to the news long awaited by many in Steeler Nation that the Pittsburgh Steelers would officially be moving on from OC Matt Canada.
Mike Tomlin’s statement says Canada was relieved of his duties and effectively fired after a humiliating offensive performance last Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, compounded by poor offensive performance during Canada’s tenure as offensive coordinator.
Tomlin made an opening statement about his decision to leave Canada during his weekly press conference.
When asked whether the decision to fire Canada was his or joint with GM Omar Khan and owner Art Rooney II, Tomlin said he was the one who pulled the trigger on the offensive coordinator change.
“Leadership is lonely,” Tomlin told the media in a video from the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “I don’t run away from him, I run towards him. It was mine and mine alone.
This statement from Tomlin contradicts a tweet previously posted by Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette who said it was Rooney’s decision to fire Canada. Obviously, Rooney has the final say on the coaching staff or front office’s decision, but since this is Tomlin’s coaching staff, it makes sense that he was the one to call Canada.
Tomlin has long been accused of being too loyal to Canada and other members of his coaching staff. However, the lack of results has become too glaring to ignore.
Tomlin said during his press conference that he did not make this decision lightly because someone’s career and reputation were on the line.
But Pittsburgh’s poor offensive performance became too much for the Canada remains true to his role on the team, pushing Tomlin to make the decision in an attempt to get the Steelers offense back on track.
Tomlin probably let Rooney know he wanted to fire Canada, but you can see where Tomlin probably felt pressure from Rooney and the rest of Steeler Nation to make a change.
There were no signs of improvement and his locker room showed signs of frustration and disunity.
Tomlin will lead the offense for the remainder of the season with QB coach Mike Sullivan and RB coach Eddie Faulkner’s staff, sticking to his decision to make a decision that most of the Black faithful and Gold probably feels long overdue.
