"Is changing coordinator or coaching staff at all a possibility for you?"
"No."
That was the exchange between Mike Tomlin and 93.7 The Fan's Josh Rowntree on Wednesday when Tomlin met with reporters. It's Mike Tomlin confirming that Matt Canada will be his offensive coordinator beyond the bye week and most likely for the rest of the season.
Now, the problems with the Steelers offense are many. Canada has become the easiest target for blame. But when you're that bad, it's never just one thing. Their rookie quarterback has made rookie mistakes. Their first round running back hasn't been himself, although a mysterious Lisfranc injury and an offensive line that's hung him out to dry consistently hasn't helped.
Speaking of that line…and this is where Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert and heck, even Omar Khan deserve some blame…it's poorly constructed. This offense is built for an established veteran QB. It's built for 2008-2015 Ben Roethlisberger. A mobile QB with years of experience in the league who can overcome a shaky line because of their savviness and weapons around them.
That's clearly not what they have under center right now.
All of that being said, it's Canada who gets most of the criticism. Why? Because we haven't seen much success from him even going back to last season and because, well, he's the guy in charge of the worst statistical offense in the league.
So now it's become the question many of us are asking ourselves this week: why won't Mike Tomlin just move on from Matt Canada?
The answer can come in different forms. A move at OC may prove irrelevant this deep into the season, that's one argument. The Steelers can't just install a new playbook midway through the year, right? Even if Mike Sullivan (the other Mike Sullivan who's coaching a team on a losing streak) took over the play calling, how much could he really change what they already have?
My answer would be that the bye week gives you that time to re-arrange things, cut out plays that don't work and get back to basics, but that's just me.
There's other arguments I've heard for why you keep Canada…can't go with an outside hire midseason, don't want Kenny to be looked at as a coach killer, Tomlin doesn't want to succumb to any kind of fan or media pressure…the list goes on.
I'll throw one more in there. Could it be because of what Mike Tomlin has already accomplished? What's the one thing you hear all the national voices bring up when defending Tomlin's tenure? Outside of the "if he got fired today, there would be 20 teams lining up to hire him" line, they point out that Tomlin has never had a losing season.
Tomlin doesn't lose the locker room. He doesn't lose control of a season. He always finds a way to keep things on the rails. And you know who I think believes in that, too?
Mike Tomlin.
And I don't blame him! The track record is there. As much as that stat is misleading and used as a blanket to cover up playoff failures and overall underachievement, it's true that Tomlin's teams never sink too low.
That's why I think Matt Canada is still here. He's Tomlin's hire and in the past, Tomlin and his hires have always made it work. They've always turned it around or kept things on the rails to be competitive in the end.
The Steeler Way will prevail! Stability is the name of our game! Only loser franchises make changes on a whim!
I think it's the strong-headed belief that the way they operate is higher or better than most. I think Tomlin and the organization trust their processes too much to change.
Some may call it stubbornness to not admit your mistakes and move on from a guy who's clearly not getting it done. I call it another sign that the Steelers need to get over themselves.
The "Steeler Way" of keeping everything as stable as possible isn't giving you results. That "Way" doesn't have magical powers. There's been plenty of instability and losing over the past several seasons to back up that assertion.
But it's almost like Mike Tomlin needs to see it all fail first. He needs to see it NOT all come together for a full season before he believes it can be true. That a mistake has been made and needs to be corrected.
Maybe failure is what is needed here. If nothing else, for a wake up call. No team and no coaching staff is above making mistakes. Not even the "never had a losing season" Tomlin Steelers.
The sooner they realize that, the better.
