Steelers Ideal Offensive Coordinator Candidates
T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
It may still be November, but if you were to ask Pittsburgh Steelers Nation, they would tell you Santa Claus showed up a month early when the news broke that Matt Canada would be replaced.
It is a shame Canada could never really find a way to improve his offense throughout his tenure in Pittsburgh, but many would agree this move was long past overdue.
This will leave the Steelers in a bit of an unfamiliar position, where it is the first time since 1941 that they've made an in-season coaching change. It's unlikely a ton will change with the offensive system as a whole under the interim staff, but it's important that they can at least get some sort of improvement out of Kenny Pickett.
As it stands right now, there aren't a lot of sustainable aspects to build around with Pickett at this moment as a passer. It is imperative they figure out what he excels at to help streamline how they will go about the offensive coordinator hiring process this coming offseason and figure out whether or not they'll also be in the quarterback market as well.
Let's run through a short list of offensive coordinator candidates that the Steelers must look at this offseason.
Ryan Grubb: Washington Huskies OC
This is, without a doubt, the biggest longshot on the entire list, but one that would at least deserve a mention. Ryan Grubb has worked alongside Huskies head coach Kalen DeBoer to create one of the strongest offenses college football has seen. In 2022, the Huskies were first in expected points added (EPA) per game, and this year, they are currently fourth in the nation in total offensive EPA, according to CFB Graphs.
When it comes to play designs, Washington consistently finds ways to create favorable matchups with their usage of bunches, along with switch releases and helps mesh (pun intended) concepts together. Here at the top, they run a variation of mills with a yankee concept that doesn't put a ton of stress on the quarterback in terms of reads.
What is actually key about this play is the seven-man protection call, as this is a long-developing concept where the quarterback needs time to survey the field and it is details such as this that were brushed to the side under Canada in Pittsburgh.
Grubb is currently the second-highest-paid assistant in college football at $2 million and is currently a semifinalist for the 2023 Ryan Broyles Award, which goes to the best assistant coach in college football. With Michael Penix being among the listed favorites for the Heisman Trophy and being a potential top five quarterback in his upcoming class, it could also plant the seeds for a potential NFL reunion as well.
Mike Bobo: Georgia OC
I could think of no more perfect hire right now than to take a page from the Ravens playbook and hire the reigning Georgia offensive coordinator. Many mornings and nights have been spent by this here writer watching Mike Bobo's offense, which currently ranks 9th in overall offensive EPA per play, according to CFB graphs.
Something Bobo utilizes a ton is pre-snap shifts out of tighter and heavier personnel, which helps keep defenses in base which creates a ton of mismatches in the passing game. This usage of heavier personnel fits perfectly with what Pittsburgh is building as well, but there's also a lot of intent and setup behind the pre-snap motion of the offense that helps complement the play design.
Much of what Bobo has done with Georgia isn't very dissimilar to what the previous coordinator, Todd Monken, ended up doing, and that is perfectly okay. Bobo has been constantly taking ideas from other offenses all throughout football and even started implementing some of that cheat motion that the Dolphins' Mike McDaniel popularized to start the year.
Bobo was much maligned in his previous stint as the coordinator of the Bulldogs and was viewed as a "retread" hire by Kirby Smart and company from the outside. This isn't to say he didn't have success outside of this season, as he's the only head coach in Colorado State history to take his team to bowl games in his first three seasons. The Rams also had three of the top seven scoring seasons under his tenure, so his teams definitely weren't inept offensively.
Sometimes, you don't need an innovator. You need a guy who isn't afraid to take ideas from smarter people. It's a copycat league for a reason, and one of the main criticisms of Canada was that he seemed hesitant to borrow from around the league, especially in season.
With Carson Beck looking like one of the best quarterbacks in college football this season and his potential prospects looking bright for this, or potentially next year's class, a potential reunion could also be in the cards if Bobo were to indeed be hired by Pittsburgh.
MORE: Steelers Land Georgia QB Carson Beck in Latest Mock Draft
Jerrod Johnson: Houston Texas QB Coach
If this name sounds familiar, it's because Jerrod Johnson was once a camp arm quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers back in 2012. Johnson got his coaching opportunity started when he worked with the 49ers and Colts in 2017 and 2019 under the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. He was then promoted to offensive quality control coach in 2020.
Johnson would continue to quickly work his way up, getting his opportunity to work under Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota as the team's assistant quarterbacks coach in 2022. Johnson is now working as the main quarterbacks coach in Houston, where C.J. Stroud is putting together one of the most impressive rookie seasons we've ever seen.
This could be a bit too early for Johnson to be promoted, but he's worked under some great offensive minds that are sure to have rubbed off on him. There is also a high likelihood of him potentially being promoted to replace Bobby Slowik, who seems to be a hot candidate for an NFL head coaching job.
That said, the small tie he has to Pittsburgh while working under Mike Tomlin could at least garner an interview in the hiring process. Definitely a name to keep in mind.
Klint Kubiak: San Francisco 49ers Passing Game Coordinator
Only 36 years old but highly regarded in NFL circles and the son of Super Bowl-winning head coach Gary Kubiak, Klint Kubiak is sure to be a very hot name for a lot of offensive coordinator jobs. Having worked under his Dad, Kevin Stefanski and now Kyle Shanahan, that is an incredible line of coaches to have been able to absorb knowledge from.
Kubiak got his first opportunity as an offensive quality control coach at Texas A&M back in 2010. He would get his first NFL opportunity with the Minnesota Vikings as an offensive quality control coach in 2013. His first stint as a play-caller came in 2021, where Kirk Cousins would have arguably the best statistical season of his career thus far.
Kubiak has adopted many modern NFL offensive principles when it comes to the usage of motion to help complement play design. The Vikings weren't exactly amazing in advanced metrics, only ranking 17th in EPA per play that season, but for his first season as a play-caller, it was definitely respectable.
That early experience as a play caller, along with studying under the best mind in football in Kyle Shanahan, is sure to pay off in the long run, as many offensive play callers tend to fail at their first outing. There is no question that the Steelers must interview him this offseason.
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