Mark Madden: Steelers promoting Matt Canada falls under 'status quo,' 'definition of insanity'

At his season-ending media briefing, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, “I’m not going to maintain the status quo and hope the outcome changes. That’s the definition of insanity.”

Less than a week later, Tomlin slipped on a straitjacket and is hoping no one notices.

Replacing Randy Fichtner with Matt Canada as offensive coordinator is a matter of same thing, different bobo.

Fichtner took over for Todd Haley in 2018 because Fichtner was the quarterbacks coach, Ben Roethlisberger was comfortable with him and he would do what Roethlisberger wanted. Roethlisberger was the real coordinator. Fichtner was his bobo. Fichtner had input, but Roethlisberger had final say. Like when he drew up plays in the dirt.

But, after collapsing at season’s end a third straight time, the Steelers needed to put somebody’s head on a pike to placate the citizens. Fichtner was already a popular scapegoat. Firing Tomlin wasn’t an option because the Steelers don’t do that.

So Fichtner took the fall. Now Canada will be Roethlisberger’s new bobo. The Steelers didn’t even interview anybody else.

Canada is marginally qualified at best. He’s never been a coordinator at the NFL level. In fact, this past season was his first coaching in the pros.

But he’s very qualified to be Roethlisberger’s bobo. As evidenced by the bells and whistles Canada wanted to implement in this season’s attack — pre-snap movement, jet motion, etc. — mostly disappearing after seeing use early.

Roethlisberger’s resume dictates he gets a lot of say to go along with a lot of respect.

But after the Steelers went from 11-0 to losing five of their last six and exiting in the first round of the playoffs in humiliating fashion thanks largely to Roethlisberger throwing four interceptions, an appointment like this should be somebody else’s to make.

Canada will maintain the status quo. It will be said that he won’t and for a while, he won’t. But ultimately, he will.

Tomlin will hope the outcome changes. He must be insane.

Roethlisberger also reportedly wants the Steelers to keep JuJu Smith-Schuster. That’s highly unlikely because of the Steelers’ cap situation, Smith-Schuster’s price tag, and his desire to take his nickel-dime TikTok-level branding to a bigger market.

But here’s betting that Roethlisberger’s OGs who may be on the cusp of retirement — like Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro — are persuaded to come back for one last historic effort. The history in question being Tomlin’s first-ever losing season.

Get everybody fitted for a straitjacket.

The Steelers often use the offensive coordinator as a sacrificial lamb, a way station used to divert blame from its proper destination by way of satiating the marks’ bloodlust.

The Steelers said Bruce Arians “retired” after the 2011 season. Now, as Tampa Bay’s head coach, he has the Buccaneers one win away from the Super Bowl. (Tom Brady has helped.)

Watch other NFL playoff teams execute their offense. They’re playing chess. The Steelers play checkers. Simple can be good. With the Steelers’ offense, it isn’t. The Steelers ran less play-action than any team in the league. Roethlisberger averaged 3 air yards per completion. Dead people fall forward farther.

But if you prefer old school, the quarterback sneak was on prominent display in the Divisional Round. The Steelers have a 6-foot-5 QB who gains 2 yards by merely leaning north, but won’t try a sneak at gunpoint.

So much was wrong with the Steelers offense. So much of it was self-inflicted.

You hear the Steelers don’t run the ball because they can’t. But for their first six games, they could. They averaged 130 rushing yards per game on 31 carries per.

Then they stopped running the ball. They topped 100 yards on the ground just once more. They never topped 27 carries in a game. They rushed 18 times or less in five games. They finished dead last in the NFL in rushing.

The Steelers stopped running. Then they stopped winning.

Canada will solve all that. Just like Arians “retired.” What a crock.