"I do not" was Matt Canada's three-word response when asked a couple days ago at his weekly session with reporters if he had any response to hockey fans chanting for his firing at the Penguins' opener the previous night. And with that, offered without the tiniest a trace of ... well, anything, he turned toward the rest of the pack to await the next question.
Give it up for the guy: He might be the NFL's worst offensive coordinator -- he's certainly got my vote -- but he's got this part of the gig down.
No, really, from everything I've seen and heard, the man's got the steeliest resolve of anyone I've ever covered within the context of a specific public outrage toward a coach unlike any I've ever covered. Because it's no longer just about what plays he calls. It's how he reacts in the booth, based on whatever milliseconds happen to be aired on a broadcast. It's his every spoken syllable in the weekly sessions. It's even wholly fabricated social-media or talk-show narratives.
How's he handle it?
The simplest answer is that he doesn't. Not entirely, anyway.
For one, he's acknowledged that Angela Tegnelia, one of the Steelers' media relations aces, fills him in on whatever he might need to address at the weekly sessions. And, not coincidentally, she's the one standing right next to Canada at those sessions in the event she's needed. (Which has yet to happen.) It's part of what these professionals do with all three of our city's teams. And to be further clear, there's one next to Mike Tomlin, Teryl Austin, Kenny Pickett and anyone else designated to be of prominence. This isn't uncommon.
For another, at least according to those on the inside who deal with him on a daily basis, Canada can take it. He's got an innate ability to "tune out the noise," as Tomlin likes to say, and focus on football. In fact, I'm told this one of the traits Tomlin's long admired in Canada
That said, there've also been occasions over the course of this season and the first half of 2022 where it's been obvious some of it's getting through. I can't even come up with a concrete example, to be honest, so let it suffice that I've sensed it in some moments.
Crazy that it's come to this. Really is.
MORE STEELERS
• He's not getting fired. Not in-season. If it would've happened, it would've happened in the bye week. In the Steelers' world, because Tomlin's always defense-first, the offensive coordinator's the only one holding a complete set of keys. Even though the playbook would have to remain the playbook, transferring the playcalling process to Glenn Thomas and/or Mike Sullivan would take extra time between games. Presuming it's possible at all.
• As for the players ... it's funny how they talked a ton about Canada in 2022 but don't really do that anymore, at least not per my own conversations. The feel I get is that, because Pickett and Najee Harris have been stressing to their teammates not complaining about things out of their control, it's applying across the board.
• Don't buy for a split-second Austin's reiterated nonsense this week that Joey Porter Jr.'s not ready to start. The kid might not take the field for the opening snap next week in Los Angeles, but he'll play a ton. And he'll do so at the expense of Patrick Peterson bumping to the inside.
• Same's going to apply to Broderick Jones. Although Canada characterized the Steelers' offensive line as having "three NFL tackles," there's no way Jones returns to the sideline right after a pristine, pressure-free performance like the one against the Ravens, even if Dan Moore's fully healthy and ready. Aside from the massive trade-and-draft acquisition of Jones, Moore slots in as a backup at both tackle.
• No, Mason Cole's not hurt. He's just playing poorly. Ironically, he was hurt through most of 2022, when he played quite well. No answers here.
• I asked T.J. Watt the team's No. 1 priority entering the second half, and he replied without hesitation: "Get healthy." They're all saying that. Injuries have hit this team harder than most seem to recognize or acknowledge. The players feel it.
PENGUINS
• I'll keep this one quick and quote-free: Drew O'Connor's setting his bar higher than being a bottom-six, bang-and-crash, grind-it-out winger. He believes in his speed, his skill and his ability to assimilate with other offensive talent. As he should, given what we've witnessed from him over the past month. We had a good talk on this earlier in the week, and I shared with him the tale of one Pascal Dupuis, who arrived in Pittsburgh as a trade throw-in and spare-part plugger, only to wind up on Sidney Crosby's left wing for years. Big smile after that.
• The level of misreading and miscommunication in the season opener Tuesday is the kind of thing that can only occur in ... hey, a season opener, right? It's not to be taken seriously. And I'd write the same if the Penguins had prevailed because the Blackhawks looked no different. As Matt Nieto told me, "We know what we have in here. We'll be better."
• Colin White earned a contract as a training-camp tryout, then was demoted to Wilkes-Barre. But he won over Mike Sullivan in a way that not many do right away, and he'll be the first summoned if the defensive issues persist. Truth be told, he should be here now ahead of Jeff Carter.
• The tolerance from Kyle Dubas for bottom-six guys performing as passively as Carter does won't be what it was for the previous GM. Watch and see.
• Ryan Graves' fit alongside Kris Letang was a glaring positive from the opener, as I saw it, and it's not an accident. He's done ample homework, both in terms of video work and simply talking, on Letang's style and preferences. "More than anything," he'd tell me, "I feel like he's just a great player, easy to play with." Yeah, but there's a real complement there.
• No sign of Mario Lemieux at the opener. I hate that. I don't care who's ticking off who. That needs to get fixed.
PIRATES
• Per Alex Stumpf's excellent oral history of the 2013 Blackout game, I've got something small on the subject to add here: Players such as Neil Walker, Travis Snider, Francisco Liriano, among others, don't receive anywhere near the recognition that's deserved for having pushed the franchise through what'd been seen for decades as an impenetrable barrier. That didn't happen from above, and it sure didn't happen at the ownership level. It happened within the clubhouse itself. Players piped up to management. Players poked and prodded about potential additions. Now, Bob Nutting, Frank Coonelly and Neal Huntington had to get all that done and, to their credit, they did. But understand that this was a grass-roots operation. The players wanted to win a World Series, and they were able to get three-plus years of firm commitment from above to that end. Way more impressive than coaxing Johnny Cueto to drop the ball.
• Speaking of that team: A.J. Burnett's sure making a lot of visits to Pittsburgh of late. Was up a couple days early to catch the Steelers game this past weekend. Anyone?
• Yeah, I'd take him in a heartbeat as pitching coach. Right after I'd hire John Wehner as hitting coach. But no one's asking me.
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