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Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat: Matt Canada fired edition
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Ray Fittipaldo
11:09
Welcome to a special pop-up chat to discuss the firing of Matt Canada. Fire away with your questions!
Napoli
11:10
Who do you think will actually call the offensive plays now
Ray Fittipaldo
11:11
Quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan. It makes perfect sense for Sullivan to call the plays. He works with Kenny Pickett every day and has a feel for him and what he likes.
AL
11:11
Will Gruden or Leftwich be options next year?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:12
I think the Steelers and Tomlin will be open to anyone with credentials from outside the organization. Let's face it. His last two hires were from within and they did not go well. Probably a good idea to get some fresh ideas.
Steve
11:12
Who do you think led this decision? Rooney, Khan, or Tomlin
Ray Fittipaldo
11:13
Per Gerry Dulac, this decision was made by Art Rooney II.
Steelbro
11:13
Is this where a yinzer begins a chat asking if Harvin is next?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:13
Maybe after this one is over. Ha ha.
Pickett Line
11:14
Hey, Ray… well that was an unprecedented move… Basically What are you hearing and thinking… Where do we go from here? Thanks for all the chats and insights.
Ray Fittipaldo
11:15
You ride it out with assistants taking over for the remainder of the season. But as I stated above, after Randy Fichtner and Matt Canada did not work out it's probably time to get some new ideas in the building. Why not go after a young assistant from the McVay/Shanahan coaching tree. Look at what Bobby Slowik is doing with CJ Stroud in Houston.
Jay New
11:15
How long is the leash on Pickett now? Thanks.
Ray Fittipaldo
11:17
This move probably means they'll ride with Pickett for the remainder of the season and then evaluate some things. In the end, it makes all the sense in the world for your new coordinator to coach Pickett for one year at least before you move on from him. Teams don't like to move on from first-round picks quickly especially first-round QBs.
JP
11:17
From the below, who would you pick for the 2024 OC?  Who do you think Tomlin will pick?  I know there are other qualified candidates not listed.   Darrell Bevell – Dolphins QB Coach & Passing Game Coordinator, Coached under Brad Childress (5 years), Pete Carroll (7 years) & Mike McDaniels (2 years); Vikings OC 2006 – 2010; Seahawks OC 2011 – 2017;
Tom Clements – Packers QB Coach; Coached under Mike McCarthy (12 years) & Matt LaFleur (5 years); Packers OC or Assistant Head Coach from 2012 - 2016
Brian Griese – 49ers QB Coach; Coached under Kyle Shanahan (2 years), played QB for Mike Shanahan (5 years);
Joe Bleymaier – Chiefs passing game coordinator, Coached under Andy Reid for 8 years;
Josh McDaniels – Patriots Former OC for 13 years;
Byron Leftwich – Buccaneers OC for 3 years;
Mike Sullivan
Ray Fittipaldo
11:18
Some good names there. They can go two directions an experienced NFL coordinator who has done it before or an up-and-comer. You have a mix of both. And other names surely will come up.
Jake
11:19
Should we expect a complete different approach to offensive play calling? Like more over the middle and deep balls?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:19
That's why they made the move. What they were doing obviously wasn't working. Sullivan has been an OC in the league. He has experience calling plays.
The Goatherder
11:20
Is Leftwich employed right now?  Could he come in as an "Advisor?"
Ray Fittipaldo
11:20
I'm sure he'll be on the list of candidates for OC after the season ends. Tomlin speaks at noon today so we might have more information afterward.
Jimmy A
11:21
Do you expect an increase in play action and passing plays that originate from the quarterback being under center?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:21
Not necessarily and probably not now in the middle of the season. Sullivan is going to want to lean into what Pickett does well. Accentuate his strengths and hide his weaknesses.
Steve
11:22
Who do you think led this decision? Rooney, Tomlin, or Khan
Ray Fittipaldo
11:22
This decision was made by Rooney. Gerry Dulac is sitting right next to me and reported that earlier this morning.
Guest
11:22
Is the pressure on KP now?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:23
He's an NFL QB. The pressure is always on. The way I see it, they had to make a move. Either change QBs or fire Canada. The OC always goes in these situations.
Ken
11:23
I have a different take than most on the firing.  I think the Steelers did Canada wrong.  He should have been let go before the start of the season so that he could find employment else where.  All the national experts, local journalists and FANS knew he wasn't right for this team.  So, what did they do?  They fired him right before the holidays.  This isn't the Art/Dan Rooney franchise any longer.
Ray Fittipaldo
11:24
Ken, I'm not feeling sorry for any coach making $1 million or more. He's going to get paid for the rest of the season. That's life in the NFL. Everyone gets fired.
JP
11:24
I'm not sure why Tomlin fired Canada.  He said at the beginning of the year he want consistency and stability to help develop Picket.  That's exactly what he got.
Ray Fittipaldo
11:24
But Pickett regressed. Rooney wasn't going to sit idly by and watch that continue.
Bowie Changes
11:25
I said at the beginning of season not hiring a legit offensive "assistant" like a Leftwich was a mistake.  Canada was working on borrowed time and had a high probability it wasn't going to work but Tomlin never had a plan B.  Do they bring in ANYBODY to help with gameplanning?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:25
That will be interesting to see if that takes place. I haven't heard anything about that just yet.
The Reaper Man
11:26
Now the deed is done, can you give us any insight into whether this is going to help Kenny operate an NFL offense at a baseline level? It's hard to read into that dynamic from the outside
Ray Fittipaldo
11:27
You have to understand the Steelers implemented Matt Canada's offense. They can't change the offense and the offense's verbiage in the middle of the season. They have to work with the plays Pickett likes, maybe build off those and add a wrinkle here and there when warranted.
Elated
11:27
Do you think things like post-game comments from Najee factored into Art Rooney's decision making? It seemed like coaches were starting to lose at least some of the locker room.
Ray Fittipaldo
11:29
Anytime a coach loses the locker room or is in danger of losing the locker room I think these types of things happen. And it's readily apparent Tomlin lost the locker room. Harris wasn't just speaking for himself when he spoke out Sunday. Tomlin might not have made this move, but the owner probably took the temperature of the room.
Guest
11:29
Do you agree this will supercharge the players on both sides of the ball?
Ray Fittipaldo
11:31
Perhaps. Maybe it's a short-term boost or a long-term boost. Or maybe things further deteriorate. You never know what can unfold. But personally, I think this move was long overdue. Tomlin should have fired Canada after the 2021 season. That's why I blame him for wasting the past two seasons and this one on a coordinator who wasn't very good at his job. I've said it many times. He wasted the prime years of Cam Heyward, TJ Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick with his loyalty to Canada.
jeff
11:31
Had good seats to the Browns game and saw Tomlin verbally yell at MC to get with his offense (he was sitting on bench)  Did you happen to see that?  He was fuming!
Ray Fittipaldo
11:31
I was in the press box and did not see that interaction.
Pickett Line
11:31
Could Ben ever be called as a consultant? I know it’s unconventional but he is quite familiar with the team.
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