PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A national NFL insider says firing Matt Canada won’t fix the Steelers offense. To the contrary, it could make the team, and Kenny Pickett, worse long-term.
“You can fire Matt Canada and insert any offensive coordinator you really like who’s on the street right now, it’s not going to alter the outcome,” CBS Sports’ Jason LaConfora told the Fan Morning Show. “That is where you are as a franchise.”
LaConfora went on to say the Steelers aren’t going to win a Super Bowl, nor get in the playoffs, nor have a winning record.
“It’s Kenny Pickett’s introduction to the NFL, that’s the most important thing going on there,” LaConfora told Colin Dunlap, Chris Mack, Dorin Dickerson and Adam Crowley. “I get it, from a production standpoint on Sunday people aren’t happy with how it looks and understandably so.”
“I think it’s also not just about x’s and o’s and scheme and whatever. It’s about getting him comfortable being a NFL player and seeing how his leadership manifests itself and incubating him. I would think part of Mike Tomlin’s thought process is I don’t want this young man thinking he’s getting people fired a month into his tenure as a starting quarterback in the NFL.”
The CBS veteran NFL reporter told 93.7 The Fan the Steelers are a spoiled fanbase, but this is what it looks like to break in a new quarterback. He said it’s a franchise in transition and there will be ugly games and growing pains. LaConfora challenged Steelers fans to look at Josh Allen’s first four NFL games (1-3 record, 53% completion, 2 TD, 4 INT, 18 sacks).
“I don’t know that firing any one person in October is going to unlock anything or change the fact that this is where this franchise is,” LaConfora told The Fan Morning Show. “People have been done with Matt Canada before the season started. I’m not surprised he’s becoming the face of it.”
He said it’s more important to look bigger picture, even if that means sacrificing results right now. Patience and keeping Pickett in a good head space is bigger than any one result or coach.
“Firing and do what?” LaConfora said “Are we changing verbiage? How much adjustment needs to go on? What’s it going to do for the kid’s psyche? What is the real cost/benefit analysis on this? I’m not sure their calculus is going to be where the fans are.”
“This kid is going to take some time.
He was a late bloomer. He was something of a one-year wonder. There’s a reason they set it up originally the way they did, which was to develop him while they saw if this roster and Trubisky were good enough to keep them in a playoff-mode. That’s no longer the case.”
“Road number two is going to be bumping and windy, but the payoff could be exponentially bountiful if he is who you drafted him to be. If going into next year he has his feet under him now and development has taken place. What does the high-end potential look like, if he can tap into it.”
“I don’t think it’s fair to assess that after a month.”