PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Penguins have fired head coaches twice during the season and went on to win the Stanley Cup. Lloyd McClendon was fired by the Pirates during the season a few managers ago. The last time the Steelers fired a head coach or coordinator in season, was 1941.
According to ESPN, the Steelers partial owner, Bert Bell, fired himself that season. There were a few others things happening that year that lessoned the impact of that move. But it what makes this move so stunning.
Even when they've had bad seasons or what appeared to be broken relationships, the Steelers always stuck with their high-level coaches from times under Chuck Noll to Bill Cowher to Mike Tomlin. Todd Haley had rocky interactions, yet he stayed through the season. Bruce Arians was forced into retirement, yet he finished the year.
This time was different, the communication on offense was getting to a point where at times was dysfunctional. It's always been said in hockey that it's easier to fire the coach than an entire team. This doesn't absolve quarterback Kenny Pickett from blame or mistakes by receivers or linemen or running backs, but it does show that the solution was not Matt Canada.
So much so, they made a historic decision on Tuesday.




