Matt Canada might be the new quarterbacks coach for the Steelers this season, but his biggest effect just might come on the team's running game.
Canada was hired to work with third-year quarterback Mason Rudolph and either Devlin Hodges or Paxton Lynch, depending on which one wins the No. 3 job behind Ben Roethlisberger. Randy Fichtner, who also served as the quarterbacks coach in 2018 and 2019, remains the offensive coordinator, overseeing the installation of the scheme and calling plays on game days. But he also gets input from his entire offensive staff when building that game plan and installing the scheme.
Canada is known for his ability to scheme up plays in the running game, whether it be via jet sweeps to the wide receivers or zone option reads with the running backs. Mike Tomlin often says he doesn't care where good ideas come from, only that they come.
In this case, Canada's pre-snap motions and other college innovations would prove worthy of inclusion in the Steelers offense. According to NFL analyst Warren Sharp, the Steelers used pre-snap motion 34 percent of the time in the first three quarters of a game -- it's often meaningless in the fourth quarter of games when a team is holding a big lead or trailing. That was the seventh-lowest in the NFL last season.
“He’ll work hand-in-hand with all the quarterbacks and help them in their growth and development and readiness for the season," Tomlin said recently of Canada. "And not only that, he’s going to bring some fresh ideas to us as a coaches collectively — and probably bring some schematic ideas, as well.”
Given the Steelers' anemic rushing attack the past two seasons, it would be a welcome change. The Steelers have ranked 31st and 29th in the past two seasons running the ball.
From his time early in his career starting out as a running backs coach at Northern Illinois, where he recruited and coached future NFL star Michael Turner, Canada has always been closely tied to strong running games and good running backs.
At Wisconsin, where he was offensive coordinator and QB coach in 2012, he had Montee Ball, James White and Melvin Gordon on the same roster. He then moved on to North Carolina State, where in the same position he held at Wisconsin, he oversaw the recruitment and development of quarterback Jacoby Brissett and running backs Jaylen Samuels and Nyheim Hines. Then it was on to Pitt in 2016, where he coached future Steelers starter James Conner before leaving in 2017 to go to LSU, where he had Derrius Guice.
Finally, at Maryland in 2018, Canada coached another of the Steelers' future running backs, Anthony McFarland, to a 1,000-yard season as the team's offensive coordinator and interim head coach.
"Matt Canada is one hell of a coach," said McFarland, a fourth-round pick of the Steelers this year. "He’s one of the favorite coaches I’ve ever had. He had a big impact on me. Matt showed how he cared not just on the field, he showed how he cared for us. He coaches you hard. I’m super excited just to be around him and pick his brain. That guy knows a lot."
So, even though Canada's official title is that of quarterbacks coach with the Steelers, he's quite knowledgeable with the players in the team's running back room, having coached Conner, Samuels and McFarland in the past.
"He’s a football man," Conner said of Canada. "I think the way he’ll help us the most is his presence. I honestly believe that. Playing for him in 2016, every day, the passion he brought was contagious. He spoke so much positivity to us, put so much confidence in us, he’s a winner. I’m excited to have him on staff."
It could mean bigger things for the running game. The Steelers scored just seven rushing touchdowns in 2019, a ridiculously low number for a team that finished 8-8. Of more than 350 teams that have finished at .500 or better in the past 20 seasons, just 14 did so rushing for seven or fewer touchdowns.
That came a year after the Steelers were incredibly efficient in the red zone, scoring a touchdown 73.5 percent of the time, the highest in the NFL since 2003. Conner was a big part of that, scoring 12 rushing touchdowns to tie for the AFC lead.
Conner struggled through an injury-plagued 2019 season. But even if he's not available at times in 2020, the Steelers have to figure out ways to run the ball effectively to help take pressure off Roethlisberger, who is returning from an elbow surgery.
"Playing running back in this offense, you can get used a lot of ways. I think that’s every offense. You have to establish the running game first," Conner said. "That’s what our group is going to take pride in this year, getting that running game going."
Scheming things up more to make that happen could be where Canada makes his biggest impact.
For example, in his one year at Pitt, Canada used speedy receiver Quadree Henderson in jet motion on nearly every play, either handing him the ball or using him to get linebackers to take false steps. Henderson had 60 rushing attempts for 631 yards and five touchdowns. Conner scored 16 rushing touchdowns that season on just 216 carries.
The Steelers could use receiver Diontae Johnson, an All-Pro last season as a return man, in a similar fashion to how Henderson was used at Pitt.
"I know with his guidance, with his mind, Coach T always says, we don’t care where good ideas come from. He has a lot of good ideas," Conner said. "It’s going to be our job to execute it. I know as a coach he’s going to give us everything he has."
