Matt Canada is officially coming back for a third season as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And there’s nothing that can be done about it. The fans can’t wish his dismissal into existence. And the media can’t write it (or speak it) into existence.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying, though, was it? I feel like the topic of firing Canada has been driving Pittsburgh sports Twitter and sports talk radio since the minute last season ended in Kansas City.

But it all went for naught. Despite organizing an offense that eclipsed 30 points just once last year and averaged only 18.1 per game (tied for 26th in the league), Canada has been allowed to keep his job.

So let’s stop crying and talk about what he has to do better to make this the right decision by Mike Tomlin.

1. Look for more big plays in the passing game

Yes, even if that means risking more interceptions.

As we posted Wednesday, Canada, Tomlin and the rest of the offensive coaching staff is to be commended for drawing up a low-risk offense that allowed Kenny Pickett to get his feet wet as rookie quarterback. It was good enough to get the Steelers seven wins in nine tries after the bye, featuring just one interception from Pickett over that span.

But, let’s be honest. It was against a garbage schedule. Six of the nine teams they faced were sub .500. They lost two of the three contests they played against teams that were above .500 and made the playoffs.

The offense was tediously nibbling, with painfully few big strikes. It dominated time of possession, fifth in the league at 31:18 per game. Canada’s group also was fifth in most offensive snaps (1,153 pass, rush and penalties), and led the league in average plays per drive at 6.5.

But the yards per play of 4.9 put them 27th, and Pickett’s 6.2 yards per attempt were good for just 33rd in the NFL. The Steelers had only 44 plays of 20 yards or more — tied with the Cleveland Browns for 23rd in the league — with just three plays of 40-plus yards (tied for last with the Arizona Cardinals and Jacksonville Jaguars).

Canada needs to design more plays with explosive potential. He needs to call them more frequently. Pickett needs to be empowered to throw them without reprisal for the occasional interception.

Hunt for those big plays. Stop hoping to just stumble into them because you caught the defense in a bad look or caught them by surprise on a throw to Connor Heyward.

Change the agenda of always getting to third and short. Push the ball beyond the sticks more often. Do it earlier in down and distance situations. Enough with the “catch short to run long philosophy.” The running long aspect is rarely seen.

As Tomlin said, “It’s our job as coaches to do what’s required to engineer victory.” And that’s what was necessary in 2022. I guess.

If Pickett can’t handle more in 2023, it’s better to find out next year. At that point, you’d have to start looking for a new QB as well. If needed, you break in Canada’s replacement with a different quarterback who is more NFL worthy in 2024.

But I want to at least see Pickett get a chance to prove his draft slot by running a more mature offense next year.

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2. Do better in the red zone

The Steelers’ red-zone touchdown percentage of 51.9 was 22nd in the NFL. Najee Harris over the top. Shovel passes, tricky end-arounds and handoffs to Derek Watt from the 1-yard line are all fine in tight. But at times Canada seemed allergic to the idea of passing the ball into the end zone.

“We all know it, we’ve got to score more,” Canada said before the season finale against Cleveland. “I mean, we can’t go down there and not get touchdowns. There is no magic. The windows are tighter, the field, those plays get bigger, and we certainly can’t stop ourselves.”

Yeah. I get it. Because of all the congestion in a tight area, mistakes are more likely to happen, and they become more costly because they prevent points from going up on the board.

But Pickett and Mitch Trubisky combined for an NFL-low 12 passing touchdowns. Canada’s unit has to do better than that. The last team to have fewer than 12 passing touchdowns was the (then) St. Louis Rams with 11 in 2015.

3. Get George Pickens involved more often

And in different ways. Get him off the sideline. For however much the rookie receiver saw double coverage, the number was actually much more than that because the sideline was always acting like a second defender against him.

Pickens was rarely used over the middle of the field. That trend started to change over the last month of the season. But Pickens’ route tree needs to evolve. It’s hard to tell how much run-after-the-catch ability Pickens has because he was so rarely put in a position to show it off. The Georgia product had 801 receiving yards, just 104 after the catch (211th in the NFL).

Canada spoke about concepts to get Pickens the ball over the middle of the field more often on Dec. 22 in advance of the team’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

“They’re there. They don’t get noticed until we get the ball thrown and caught or targeted to him, but I think his route tree has continued to evolve. George is a big-time player, and we’ll continue to get him (targets) more and more,” Canada said.

Let’s hope. A vast majority of Pickens’ targets simply appeared to be hope shots and back shoulder fades along the sidelines. Maybe the occasional out-cut or two.

In terms of volume, Pickens didn’t exceed six targets in a game for the last six weeks. Through the first 17 weeks, Pickens ran a route on 91% of the Steelers’ dropbacks, with a 15% target share.

4. Have a ‘Plan B’

The Steelers were blessed with good health on offense for most of the year, especially after the bye. Once Najee Harris’ preseason foot injury healed, he looked like the running back we saw last year. Pickens and Diontae Johnson played every game. So did the entire starting five of the offensive line.

Aside from the concussions Pickett and tight end Pat Freiermuth endured, the offense was rarely hampered by injury.

Don’t expect that level of good fortune again next year. However the offense grows in 2023, Canada must be ready to adjust based on injury. And the odds say he’ll probably have to do more of that next year.

5. Find — and better utilize — a third wide receiver

Maybe it’s a mid-range free agent signee (think Jericho Cotchery) or second-day draft pick. Maybe it’s this year’s third-rounder Calvin Austin, who couldn’t play at all season due to injury. Or maybe it’s free agent signee Anthony Miller who also missed all of this year due to injury.

But the Steelers need a quality third receiver. And not just for jet sweeps!

Steven Sims, Miles Boykin and Gunner Olszewski are nice on special teams and in the run game. But the Steelers need stronger options when they go three or four wide. And, to amplify the previous point, if Johnson or Pickens get hurt, they’d be extremely thin at the position.

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