Steelers owner Art Rooney II is pleased with the team’s 7-2 finish and speaking with a handful of reporters on Thursday, said that was one of the reasons the organization is retaining Matt Canada.
LISTEN: Full interview with Steelers President Art Rooney II
Another reason, was the relationship Canada developed with quarterback Kenny Pickett.
“With a rookie quarterback, they seemed to work well together,” said Canada. “They built a good working relationship. To start over with a new offensive coordinator, you could wind up with the same situation again where the first half of the season you are breaking in a new coordinator. We just felt like there was enough there to build on we wanted to keep that group together.”
Rooney adds it was important for the team to improve, especially after they started 2-6.
Rooney said with having two new quarterbacks in Mitch Trubisky and then Kenny Pickett, there had to be adjustments
“A key factor in the season was having a rookie starting quarterback that stepped in about a quarter of the way through the season. The progression of Kenny was obvious and good to see. Hopefully something we will continue to build on for next year.”
Rooney says that he would like to see more success in the red zone and was pleased with the tandem of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.
“We have a lot of good, young players on offense who hopefully will take another step next year, that’s what we’ll be looking for,” said Rooney.
While he believes a “have a pretty good young group” they will also be looking at the draft to add pieces on the offense.