CLEVELAND, Ohio — The face of the program doesn’t want to be here. He’s reading a prepared statement about a decision that was made for him. In 34 years, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz told reporters two weeks ago, his program has never announced a coaching change before the season was over.
But Ferentz’s new boss, interim athletic director Beth Goetz, thought it was time to update program traditions. Iowa’s offense performed so poorly this season that it became a laughingstock. It looked ugly enough to erase 34 years of history. The Hawkeyes’ offense was so bad that Goetz fired Ferentz’s son, Brian, with four games to play.
Nine games into the NFL schedule, the people of Pittsburgh are watching Iowa with envious eyes. Because entering Sunday’s game against Cleveland, the Steelers’ offense is even worse than Iowa’s in some ways.
This season, Pittsburgh has gained 18 fewer rushing yards per game (103 compared to 121) than Iowa. Its quarterbacks have thrown fewer touchdowns per game (0.77 compared to 0.8) than Iowa’s. And most damning: Pittsburgh averages 1.5 fewer points (17.3 compared to 18.8) than its paternal college twin.
Unlike the Hawkeyes, the Steelers keep allowing coach Mike Tomlin to retain offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Week after week, punt after punt, Pittsburgh fans chant for a change in play callers. They never get it, and they never will this season. Because, and this may sound familiar: The Steelers have never changed coordinators midseason.
To be clear: Tomlin has never made that argument, but what other reason could he have? His offense belongs at the bottom of the Big Ten West. If Canada signed Brian Ferentz’s “drive for 25 (points per game)″ contract provision last offseason, he would need 33.6 points per game over the next eight weeks to fulfill it. And considering Canada’s offense has achieved that total once in 44 games, it’s a good thing he didn’t sign anything.
Where is Tomlin’s Goetz? Where is new Steelers general manager Omar Kahn, who took over for Kevin Colbert last year?
Sure, Kahn followed Pittsburgh’s traditions for 11 years under Colbert (21 in total), but Kahn also hired assistant general manager Andy Weidl (Eagles), director of pro scouting Sheldon White (Commanders) and director of player scouting Mark Sadowski (Bears) from outside of the Pittsburgh cocoon.
Kahn made as many trades involving a top-64 draft pick (one) this season as Colbert did during the previous 13 seasons. In doing so, Kahn proved himself willing to adjust The Steeler Way.
Challenging Tomlin might require more than a tweak in protocol, though. Pittsburgh has always prided itself on letting coaches coach. And Tomlin’s formula has worked for 17 consecutive .500-or-better seasons.
But that’s only half of Ferentz’s tenure, and Tomlin will never have to eat Thanksgiving dinner with Canada. If Goetz can shake the status quo at Iowa with an interim tag, Kahn should face no roadblocks changing Pittsburgh’s without it.
The Steelers might be 7-3 by the end of this weekend, but Iowa was 5-2 when Goetz made her call. And the reality is that neither team is winning anything important without a better offense. Pittsburgh’s best-case scenario, like Iowa’s, is making the playoffs (or Big Ten title game) only to be outclassed by an opponent who can score consistently. Unless, of course, it makes a change.
Maybe doing so goes against decades of Steeler tradition, but sometimes traditions have to change. Goetz forced Ferentz to heed the chain of command; now it’s Kahn’s turn. Because one key difference between Iowa and Pittsburgh is the Steelers actually have talent on offense. George Pickens and Diontae Johnson get open. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren both rank top 10 in 15-yard rushing plays. Add that talent to an improving offensive line and Pittsburgh has reason to believe that changing the play caller could actually change their fortunes.
Too bad, because the difference between Goetz and Kahn appears to be the former’s willingness to meddle. The interim AD was tired of seeing her football team used as a punchline, and she didn’t care whose feathers she ruffled by killing the joke. But the full-time general manager appears comfortable wasting a season of elite defense and cheap quarterback play.
Or at least, he seems more comfortable doing that than stepping on his coach’s toes.
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