Can you just imagine the comments at the P-G or Tribune

[Chairman Moe]

if Matt Canada is hired as the next Pitt OC?

Fast forward to Pitt's first game vs a legitimate P5 opponent; a jet sweep is called and loses three yards - or fumbles, resulting in a scoop and score ...

On the plus side, Pitt wouldn't have to pay any relocation costs to the Canada family ...

Is there a sarcasm font??

Regardless of how good MC was as OC in 2016, any rewind of an OC now would just be press fodder for any and all sports reporters who might cover the Panthers. Of course I am but a 70+ year old fan who has never coached, so what reason do I have to suggest who the Panthers hire as their next OC ...

All I know, is that the 2021 version of Pitt football was fun to watch - reverting to something similar would please a lot of Panther faithfuls

 

[President Stache]

if Matt Canada is hired as the next Pitt OC?

Fast forward to Pitt's first game vs a legitimate P5 opponent; a jet sweep is called and loses three yards - or fumbles, resulting in a scoop and score ...

On the plus side, Pitt wouldn't have to pay any relocation costs to the Canada family ...

Is there a sarcasm font??

Regardless of how good MC was as OC in 2016, any rewind of an OC now would just be press fodder for any and all sports reporters who might cover the Panthers. Of course I am but a 70+ year old fan who has never coached, so what reason do I have to suggest who the Panthers hire as their next OC ...

All I know, is that the 2021 version of Pitt football was fun to watch - reverting to something similar would please a lot of Panther faithfuls

Honestly, his tenure at Pitt was fantastic, but I also remember him leaving for LSU and my LSU coworkers hated him for being super unimaginative just like with teh Steelers. So, my question would be... who the heck ran that innovative offense when he was OC at Pitt?? Was there another clever dude there?

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

the PG or Trib? Imagine what this board will look like.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

if Matt Canada is hired as the next Pitt OC?

Fast forward to Pitt's first game vs a legitimate P5 opponent; a jet sweep is called and loses three yards - or fumbles, resulting in a scoop and score ...

On the plus side, Pitt wouldn't have to pay any relocation costs to the Canada family ...

Is there a sarcasm font??

Regardless of how good MC was as OC in 2016, any rewind of an OC now would just be press fodder for any and all sports reporters who might cover the Panthers. Of course I am but a 70+ year old fan who has never coached, so what reason do I have to suggest who the Panthers hire as their next OC ...

All I know, is that the 2021 version of Pitt football was fun to watch - reverting to something similar would please a lot of Panther faithfuls

The 2016 offense was the best in school history and it wasnt exactly loaded with elite talent.

- Peterman - career NFL backup
- Conner - was maybe 75%
- Weah - CFL
- Henderson - cup of coffee in NFL
- Orndoff - ditto
- Aston - GOAT

 

[forbesfield]

I'm pretty sure his future will only involve the G5 schools moving forward. If that.

 

[PatMac59]

Honestly, his tenure at Pitt was fantastic, but I also remember him leaving for LSU and my LSU coworkers hated him for being super unimaginative just like with teh Steelers. So, my question would be... who the heck ran that innovative offense when he was OC at Pitt?? Was there another clever dude there?

In my opinion, Canada is generally pretty solid at coordinating a run game. People scoff at the jet sweeps and reverses, but they are effective plays when called at the right time. His abysmal passing concepts were his downfall. He relied far too much on short passes and fades along the sideline. Those can work at the college level since most teams have at least one or two below-average athletes at linebacker, corner, and safety who can be exploited. Think of how Pitt shredded Syracuse in '16 using short passes to Ffrench and Henderson. But, at the NFL level, those mismatches rarely exist. You need to exploit schematic weaknesses and attempt to confuse the defenders. No player or defensive coordinator was confused by Canada's passing concepts.

 

[Chairman Moe]

Honestly, his tenure at Pitt was fantastic, but I also remember him leaving for LSU and my LSU coworkers hated him for being super unimaginative just like with teh Steelers. So, my question would be... who the heck ran that innovative offense when he was OC at Pitt?? Was there another clever dude there?

Stache, as you might know from some other posts I've made here (assuming you saw them!) I am an LSU fan as well as a Pitt fan. In the attached article it describes a bit of what was going on before Steve Ensminger came on the scene in Baton Rouge (under Coach O) ... while it is true that the "potential" of Matt Canada may never have been reached, and while I think he is a more that adequate college OC, the hiring of him now would have everyone tip-toeing on eggshells ...

Ed Orgeron admits former offensive coordinator Matt Canada ‘wasn’t the right fit’

Ed Orgeron has a fresh start with a new OC that aligns more with his vision of the program.

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

In my opinion, Canada is generally pretty solid at coordinating a run game. People scoff at the jet sweeps and reverses, but they are effective plays when called at the right time. His abysmal passing concepts were his downfall. He relied far too much on short passes and fades along the sideline. Those can work at the college level since most teams have at least one or two below-average athletes at linebacker, corner, and safety who can be exploited. Think of how Pitt shredded Syracuse in '16 using short passes to Ffrench and Henderson. But, at the NFL level, those mismatches rarely exist. You need to exploit schematic weaknesses and attempt to confuse the defenders. No player or defensive coordinator was confused by Canada's passing concepts.

His jet sweeps and middle shovel passes to the TE work in college. All that eye candy stuff works in college because college defendes arent as fast and cant react as quickly as an NFL defense can.

 

[Chairman Moe]

In my opinion, Canada is generally pretty solid at coordinating a run game. People scoff at the jet sweeps and reverses, but they are effective plays when called at the right time. His abysmal passing concepts were his downfall. He relied far too much on short passes and fades along the sideline. Those can work at the college level since most teams have at least one or two below-average athletes at linebacker, corner, and safety who can be exploited. Think of how Pitt shredded Syracuse in '16 using short passes to Ffrench and Henderson. But, at the NFL level, those mismatches rarely exist. You need to exploit schematic weaknesses and attempt to confuse the defenders. No player or defensive coordinator was confused by Canada's passing concepts.

Agree 100% that the defensive coaches in the NFL had no fear of Canada's play calling. I rather enjoyed watching the 2016 Pitt team as it took advantage of teams with weaker LB's.

The "what ifs" are all in play ... what if Canada hadn't gone to LSU? What if Canada hadn't come back to the 'burgh as the OC of the Steelers?

What if Pitt DOES hire him back right now?

It certainly wouldn't be the weirdest thing a Pitt AD and football staff have done in our lifetime as Pitt fans ...

 

[President Stache]

Stache, as you might know from some other posts I've made here (assuming you saw them!) I am an LSU fan as well as a Pitt fan. In the attached article it describes a bit of what was going on before Steve Ensminger came on the scene in Baton Rouge (under Coach O) ... while it is true that the "potential" of Matt Canada may never have been reached, and while I think he is a more that adequate college OC, the hiring of him now would have everyone tip-toeing on eggshells ...

Ed Orgeron admits former offensive coordinator Matt Canada ‘wasn’t the right fit’

Ed Orgeron has a fresh start with a new OC that aligns more with his vision of the program.

www.saturdaydownsouth.com

Yeah, that is a good story... maybe the guy just is too stubborn with what he thinks works? I dont know. I just wondered, based on the way he has run other offenses why Pitt seemed so different for him

 

[Burgh15]

The 2016 offense was the best in school history and it wasnt exactly loaded with elite talent.

- Peterman - career NFL backup
- Conner - was maybe 75%
- Weah - CFL
- Henderson - cup of coffee in NFL
- Orndoff - ditto
- Aston - GOAT

It wasn't elite talent, but there was a lot of NFL talent on that roster (even if it was just a camp invite). That was one of two really good offenses Canada has coached in his career. The rest have been mediocre or bad.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

The 2016 offense was the best in school history and it wasnt exactly loaded with elite talent.

- Peterman - career NFL backup
- Conner - was maybe 75%
- Weah - CFL
- Henderson - cup of coffee in NFL
- Orndoff - ditto
- Aston - GOAT

Just goes to show how much of an advantage you have when you win in the trenches. It's why Alabama is playing for a conference championship this week despite playing musical QB chairs and being less talented as the skill positions. Three NFL draft picks on that line, as well as two other guys who could hold their own.

Plus, guys like Weah, Orndoff, Peterman, and Aston were at least "college good"... kind of like Jared Wayne. Obviously Peterman was drafted, but I tend to think just being an efficient cog in that system helped quite a bit. And Conner returned to something pretty close to form as the season went on.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

It wasn't elite talent, but there was a lot of NFL talent on that roster (even if it was just a camp invite). That was one of two really good offenses Canada has coached in his career. The rest have been mediocre or bad.

Yea, I get that but I'm saying that he didnt have a Kenny or a 100% conner or a Tyler Boyd. It was a good offense but it shouldn't have been the best in school history. I mean we dropped 43 on the national champs!

 

[Pitt79]

The 2016 offense was the best in school history and it wasnt exactly loaded with elite talent.

- Peterman - career NFL backup
- Conner - was maybe 75%
- Weah - CFL
- Henderson - cup of coffee in NFL
- Orndoff - ditto
- Aston - GOAT

How where they better than 2021, who averaged 40ppg, 500ypg, Kenny averaged 4 TDs per game. Kenny Heisman Finalist, Addison Biletnikoff winner?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

How where they better than 2021, who averaged 40ppg, 500ypg, Kenny averaged 4 TDs per game. Kenny Heisman Finalist, Addison Biletnikoff winner?

42.3 PPG without a Heisman QB or Belitnikoff winner.

 

[wbrpanther]

if Matt Canada is hired as the next Pitt OC?

Fast forward to Pitt's first game vs a legitimate P5 opponent; a jet sweep is called and loses three yards - or fumbles, resulting in a scoop and score ...

On the plus side, Pitt wouldn't have to pay any relocation costs to the Canada family ...

Is there a sarcasm font??

Regardless of how good MC was as OC in 2016, any rewind of an OC now would just be press fodder for any and all sports reporters who might cover the Panthers. Of course I am but a 70+ year old fan who has never coached, so what reason do I have to suggest who the Panthers hire as their next OC ...

All I know, is that the 2021 version of Pitt football was fun to watch - reverting to something similar would please a lot of Panther faithfuls

Could you imagine the comments pouring out of my mouth if that happened?

 

[Pitt79]

42.3 PPG without a Heisman QB or Belitnikoff winner.

Actually 2021 beats 2016 in ppg

41.4 vs. 40.9

Pitt Panthers College Football History, Stats, Records | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Check out the Pitt Panthers College Football History, Stats, Records, Polls, Bowls and More College Football Stats at Sports-Reference.com

www.sports-reference.com

 

[Burgh15]

Yea, I get that but I'm saying that he didnt have a Kenny or a 100% conner or a Tyler Boyd. It was a good offense but it shouldn't have been the best in school history. I mean we dropped 43 on the national champs!

Matt Canada has coached 2 elite offenses in his entire career. 2016 at Pitt when they finished 10th in scoring and 2011 at Northern Illinois (12th in scoring). Outside of this, he had a solid year at Indiana in 2007 (28th in scoring). The rest of his career has been mediocre to below average. NC State fired him. LSU fired him. Maryland didn't retain him. The Steelers wrongly promoted him, kept him too long, and then fired him--something they haven't done in season for decades.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

Honestly, his tenure at Pitt was fantastic, but I also remember him leaving for LSU and my LSU coworkers hated him for being super unimaginative just like with teh Steelers. So, my question would be... who the heck ran that innovative offense when he was OC at Pitt?? Was there another clever dude there?

LSU ran a lot of the same stuff at first but there was a personality conflict between Orgeron and Canada. After their 5th game, Orgeron stepped in and overruled Canada's play calling and said he had to make it more simple. There is no patience at a top program like that where you can be fired a couple years after winning a national title.

I'm not saying Canada is always a great college coordinator but he did get a raw deal at LSU when he wasn't even allowed to implement his actual offense.

At Pitt, I think Canada benefited from real synergy -- Chryst recruited some great linemen and backs and Chaney brought in Peterman as a fairly legit QB. And the offensive line was very used to a zone blocking scheme (even including using inside zone and the jet sweet as complimentary plays) under Chryst and Chaney. It just all came together. I don't expect it to happen again though.

 

[HopeandChangeforAntoons]

The 2016 offense was the best in school history and it wasnt exactly loaded with elite talent.

- Peterman - career NFL backup
- Conner - was maybe 75%
- Weah - CFL
- Henderson - cup of coffee in NFL
- Orndoff - ditto
- Aston - GOAT

Might not be a single OL on this 2023 team that would start on that 2016 team. O’Neill, DJ, Bisnowaty, and Morrissey all were drafted and JJS made a few NFL rosters. Maybe Goncalves starts over him if he stays healthy.