After spending one season as the quarterbacks coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, former Indiana University player and offensive coordinator Matt Canada has been promoted to offensive coordinator with the Steelers.
The team announced the promotion Monday, as Canada replaces Randy Fitchner, who did not have his contract renewed. The 2020 season was Canada's first in the NFL.
A press release from the Steelers highlighted several of Canada's accomplishments with the organization in his lone season in the NFL.
"Under Canada, Ben Roethlisberger completed 399 of 608 passes for 3,803 yards, with 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, for a 94.1 rating. The Steelers passing game ranked seventh in the AFC, and 15th in the NFL. The Steelers offense implemented jet sweeps and pre-snap motions early on in the season, something that Canada has been known for in his college coaching career. Canada joined the Steelers in 2020 from the college ranks where he had two decades of experience as a quarterbacks' coach and offensive coordinator and was a finalist for the Broyles Award in 2016, an honor given to the top assistant coach in college football," the release states.
Canada, 49, is a native of New Palestine, Indiana, where he played quarterback for the Dragons.
After a strong showing as a freshman on the junior varsity team, Canada was the starting quarterback as a junior and senior for former coach Marvin Shepler. Canada would throw for 1,736 yards and posted a 20-3 record, but he damaged ligaments in his knee during his senior season in 1989. That injury put an end to his dream of playing college football, but he would attend Indiana University, where he became a student assistant for the football program during his sophomore year.
In 2004, Canada became the quarterbacks coach at Indiana. A year later, he was named the passing game coordinator and QB coach from 2005-2006, and he was the offensive coordinator for the Hoosiers from 2007-2010.
While at Indiana, Canada guided an offense that put up a school record 412 points in 2007 and three different quarterbacks each ranked among the top three in single-season passing touchdowns, passing yards and completion percentage with the Hoosiers.
Canada, 49, spent his first 24 years of coaching in the college ranks. He’s been the offensive coordinator at Indiana, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina State, Pitt, LSU and Maryland, where he became the interim head coach in 2018. He was out of coaching in 2019 and spent time preparing to coach in college and the NFL because he wasn’t sure where he would get hired.
New Palestine High School athletic director Al Cooper is not surprised to see Canada's ascent to the offensive coordinator ranks in the NFL, telling TheHoosier.com that he has known Canada since he was 5 years old and was always impressed with the fact that Canada was a "student of the game."
"He had great leadership and coaching qualities in him throughout high school. He was a good quarterback in high school and he blossomed as a GA at Indiana under Coach Mallory," Cooper said. "The thing is he has been successful everywhere he has been and he has done it his way. He is smart, confident, and not afraid to adjust, to fail, and he works hard at being successful. I can't wait to see what happens in Pittsburgh."
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