Much to the ire of many Steelers fans, Matt Canada will be retained as offensive coordinator for the final year of his contract.
Now that it's official, how can the Steelers' offense possibly improve from a 26th-ranked unit with the same guy calling the shots?
First, we have to look at what went well on offense in 2022. And, yes, there were positives to build upon.
Perhaps the most promising development from last season was the drastic improvement on the ground. Prior to the bye in Week 9, the Steelers rushed for only 94.9 yards per game. In the nine games that followed, that number jumped to 146.0 rushing yards per game.
Over the second half of the season, the offensive line became a more cohesive group while Najee Harris returned to full strength from a preseason foot injury that slowed him early on. Kenny Pickett also turned the corner from throwing two touchdowns and eight interceptions prior to the bye to throwing five touchdowns and only one interception in the following nine games.
The concerted effort to establish the run and eliminate turnovers was spearheaded by Canada during the bye week, and the team answered the call.
"Just that we’re not going to lose games to bonehead mistakes most of the time," Kevin Dotson said at season's end regarding Canada's vision for the offense in the second half of the season. "If we lose, it’s because they just beat us. That you couldn’t stop bad plays, but it can’t be us."
In addition, the offense thrived in short-yardage situations on third and fourth down, specifically with one yard needed for a first down. This seemed to plague Steelers offenses in the past, but in 2022, the Steelers converted 88.1% of third- and fourth-and-1 situations. Canada also relied on many different ways to convert these downs, primarily using the quarterback sneak. When defenses would prepare for the sneak, Canada would call handoffs to Derek Watt or even a few jet sweeps to pick up the first down.
Speaking of which, despite the fans' disdain for jet sweeps, they only accounted for 3.3% of the Steelers' offensive plays. And, jet sweeps were more successful than many might actually think. The numbers back it up.
A strong running game, limiting turnovers and incredible third-down efficiency (55.9%) in the second half of the season were the highlights of Canada's offense while the team went 7-2. A defense that welcomed back T.J. Watt from injury certainly made it much easier to win those games, but it would be unfair to suggest that the offense didn't have any role in the second-half success.
"I thought he got better, just like our team got better," Mike Tomlin said in his end-of-season press conference. "We've got some work to do. But largely, I thought he got better in the ways that we got better, so it was encouraging."
The "work to do" boils down to the ultimate goal for an offense: Scoring points.
While the offense was clearly better in the second half of the season -- which wasn't that hard to do given how awful the first eight games were -- Canada's group still only produced 20.9 points per game during that 7-2 stretch. Even if the Steelers managed that production for the entire season, it would have ranked only 19th in the NFL.
The biggest hurdle for the offense isn't Pickett's growth in his second year, the offensive line or a disappointing performance by Diontae Johnson. It goes without saying that Pickett needs to take a step forward, the offensive line needs an upgrade or two and the Steelers need more production out of a receiver that's being paid No. 1 receiver money.
If Canada is to succeed in his third season at the helm of the Steelers' offense, finishing drives is has to be the main focus during the offseason.
The Steelers tied for 23rd in percentage of red zone trips that produced a touchdown. It also didn't help that they were 16th in total trips to the red zone. Moving the ball wasn't much of a problem in the second half of the season, especially when Pittsburgh started running the ball more efficiently.
However, the offense also had far too many drives stall out just outside the red zone. An easy way to see that is the Steelers led the NFL with 44 field goal attempts. They also led the NFL with 16 field goal attempts between 40-49 yards, which would put the line of scrimmage on those kicks anywhere between the opponents' 22- to 31-yard line. That's 16 times the Steelers moved the ball just to the outside of the red zone, only to come to a screeching halt.
Better utilizing his receivers will help in this endeavor. Johnson may have had a disappointing season, but he needs to run more routes that hit him in stride rather than have him coming back to the line of scrimmage. More slants and drags, less curls and comebacks. That will also make it easier for Johnson to do more of this:
Also, give George Pickens more targets, especially down the field. Pickett and Mitch Trubisky had a combined passer rating of 131.9 when they threw to Pickens 20-plus yards down the field. And with plays like this, it's easy to see how:
Yes, believe it or not, Canada deserves some credit for the offense's turnaround in the second half of the season. However, the overall body of work so far leaves a lot to be desired in terms of results. Finishing 21st and 26th, respectively, in the first two years at the helm is not going to earn another contract.
But, the Steelers are betting on Canada and his young quarterback to continue to grow together in 2023. Canada's ties with Pickett go all the way back to when he recruited him to play quarterback at Pitt. Canada left for an offensive coordinator position at LSU before Pickett took over as the Panthers' starter.
However, Pickett had nothing but good things to say about Canada during his rookie season, giving him a ringing endorsement week after week.
"We have a really good relationship where we can talk about pretty much anything. We're open and honest on what I see, and he asks me all the time. I think that open line of communication is just going to continue to improve," Pickett said on Dec. 7. "He's very open to suggestions that we all have as players or staff. It's a collective effort, and it's definitely cool to have an OC that's open to that and not just kind of closed minded. So, it's a pretty good relationship that he has with all of us."
At the end of the day, the Steelers never really considered letting Canada go this offseason. It's clear they want to build on the momentum that carried them toward playoff contention after a dreadful 2-6 start.
That being said, there is still quite a bit of work ahead for Canada if this offense is to become good enough to complement a much more accomplished defense for a 17-game season. If it can't be done, this team won't get to where they want to be come next January.