Tomlin: Steelers Fire OC Matt Canada After Browns Loss amid Kenny Pickett's Struggles

Amid the season-long struggles for Kenny Pickett and the offense, Matt Canada has been fired as Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator.

Head coach Mike Tomlin announced on Tuesday that Canada has been relieved of his duties.

Speaking to reporters about the change, Tomlin explained he didn't see enough "rapid" or "consistent" improvement from the offense to stay with the status quo.

Per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Steelers are expected to elevate running backs coach Eddie Faulkner to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan will handle play-calling duties.

The situation with Canada was becoming untenable for Tomlin and the Steelers. Pittsburgh fans have been chanting for the 51-year-old to be fired during home games and at non-Steelers sporting events in the city.

Things seemed to come to a head following Sunday's 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns. The offense only gained 249 yards and picked up 12 first downs in the game.

After the loss, Tomlin did point out the Browns have one of the NFL's best defenses when asked what his team needed to do to get the offense going.

"They have a really good defense," Tomlin told reporters. "They make a lot of offenses look like that. Coupled with their venue, we have to give them some credit. We knew their reputation in Week 2. Maybe the rest of the National Football League didn't. It's kind of been confirmed in the weeks after that and obviously they were really good today."

While it is true Cleveland has shut down many teams, this wasn't an outlier performance by the Steelers. They have been outgained in all 10 games they have played this season. They rank 28th in yards (280.1) and points (16.6) per game.

Perhaps more concerning than the stats is the performance of Pittsburgh's first-round draft picks in 2021 and 2022. Najee Harris is on pace to average fewer than 4.0 yards per carry for the third consecutive season.

Pickett has thrown for 4,126 yards with as many touchdowns as interceptions (13) in 23 career games. His 35.7 QBR this season is the fourth-worst among qualified quarterbacks, ahead of only Ryan Tannehill (32.8), Zach Wilson (31.0) and Bryce Young (29.9).

The Steelers aren't devoid of talent on offense. George Pickens has shown a knack for making spectacular plays and is averaging 16.3 yards per reception this season. Diontae Johnson had 20 touchdown receptions in his first three seasons, but has just one since the start of 2022.

Jaylen Warren leads the Steelers with 727 yards from scrimmage. His 6.2 yards per attempt ranks first among all running backs with at least 50 carries. He had 30 percent of the team's yards against the Browns on a single run in the third quarter.

Despite all of the offensive potential on this roster, the Steelers under Canada haven't been able to make it work.

This was Canada's third season as Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator. They haven't ranked higher than 21st in points per game in a season since he took over.

Making the change now at least gives Tomlin an opportunity to salvage the offense for the rest of this season as they look to hold on to a playoff spot. They currently occupy the No. 7 seed in the AFC with a 6-4 record going into Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.