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Eli Grabanski previews the 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers' coaching staff in search of buy-lows, fantasy football sleepers, and risers based on play-calling and historical data.
After every NFL season, NFL teams take the time to evaluate not only the players but also the coaching staff and front office as well. While many teams choose to retain the same head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator, a few other teams opt to go in a new direction with their coaching staff.
The Pittsburgh Steelers decided to fire former offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner, but otherwise, they will be bringing back many of the key coaching staff members from 2020. Mike Tomlin will return as the Steelers head coach and Keith Butler will be back as the team's defensive coordinator. Matt Canada is the only new coordinator, being promoted from the team's quarterbacks coach in 2020 to the team's offensive coordinator this year.
This article will look at the potential impact this coaching staff will have on the players and try to pinpoint the Steelers players' fantasy values in it.
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The Baseline
To get a better understanding of the value the Steelers coaches help bring to this team, we can look at the NFL league averages in each of the past two years in a variety of statistical categories and then compare them to the averages achieved by the Steelers' coaches. Here are 'The Baseline' NFL league averages over the past couple of years:
QB Impact
| Year | Team Pass Att. | Team Pass Yds. | Team Pass TDs | QB Carries | QB Rush Yds. | QB Rush TDs |
|
2019 League Average
|
34.87 | 251.78 | 1.56 | 3.56 | 15.04 | 0.16 |
| 2020 League Average | 35.19 | 254.88 | 1.70 | 4.19 | 18.43 | 0.25 |
RB Impact
| Year | RB Carries | RB Rush Yds. | RB Rush TDs | RB Rec. | RB Targets | RB Rec. Yds. | RB Rec. TDs |
|
2019 League Average
|
21.77 | 92.96 | 0.68 | 5.10 | 6.64 | 40 | 0.19 |
|
2020 League Average
|
21.68 | 95.13 | 0.75 | 4.71 | 6.14 | 34.94 | 0.18 |
WR Impact
| Year | WR Rec. | WR Targets | WR Rec. Yds. | WR Rec. TDs |
|
2019 League Average
|
12.05 | 19.59 | 158.39 | 0.95 |
|
2020 League Average
|
13.24 | 20.21 | 166.67 | 1.04 |
TE Impact
| Year | TE Rec. | TE Targets | TE Rec. Yds. | TE Rec. TDs |
|
2019 League Average
|
4.70 | 6.88 | 50.99 | 0.38 |
|
2020 League Average
|
4.76 | 7.03 | 51.29 | 0.45 |
Defense Impact
| Year | Points Allowed | Pass Yds Given Up | Run Yds Given Up | Plays Against | Yds/Play |
Turnovers Forced
|
| 22.8 | 235 | 112.9 | 63.5 | 5.5 | 1.4 | |
| 24.8 | 240.2 | 118.9 | 64.3 | 5.6 | 1.3 |
Previous Coaching Staff
In order to get an understanding of how the Steelers fantasy players may be impacted this year, we also need to take a look at how former Steelers offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner utilized his players during his time with the team. By doing this, we will have a better understanding of where the new coaches are starting from and where the primary changes will occur.
Former Offensive Coordinator: Randy Fichtner
QB Impact
| Year | Games | Team Pass Att. | Team Pass Yds. | Team Pass TDs | QB Carries | QB Rush Yds. | QB Rush TDs |
| 2019 Steelers | 16 | 31.88 | 200.88 | 1.13 | 2.69 | 7.31 | 0 |
| 2020 Steelers | 16 | 41 | 258.06 | 2.19 | 2.13 | 1.56 | 0 |
| Fichtner's Career Averages (OC/HC) | 48 | 38.65 | 260.77 | 1.83 | 2.33 | 5.23 | 0.06 |
RB Impact
| Year | Games | RB Carries | RB Rush Yds. | RB Rush TDs | RB Rec. | RB Targets | RB Rec. Yds. |
RB Rec. TDs
|
| 2019 Steelers | 16 | 21.5 | 80.38 | 0.44 | 5.69 | 6.69 | 39.75 | 0.25 |
| 2020 Steelers | 16 | 20.13 | 76.88 | 0.63 | 3.75 | 5 | 23.5 | 0 |
| Fichtner's Career Averages (OC/HC) | 48 | 20.13 | 79.69 | 0.63 | 4.90 | 6.06 | 35.96 | 0.17 |
WR Impact
| Year | Games | WR Rec. | WR Targets | WR Rec. Yds. | WR Rec. TDs |
| 2019 Steelers | 16 | 10.56 | 18.69 | 135.38 | 0.69 |
| 2020 Steelers | 16 | 18.56 | 28.69 | 193.5 | 1.88 |
| Fichtner's Career Averages (OC/HC) | 48 | 15.60 | 25.06 | 178.42 | 1.35 |
TE Impact
| Year | Games | TE Rec. | TE Targets | TE Rec. Yds. | TE Rec. TDs |
| 2019 Steelers | 16 | 3.31 | 4.75 | 25.5 | 0.19 |
| 2020 Steelers | 16 | 4.44 | 6.94 | 41.06 | 0.31 |
| Fichtner's Career Averages (OC/HC) | 48 | 4.38 | 6.38 | 45.5 | 0.29 |
2021 Offense
2021 Offensive Coordinator: Matt Canada
QB Impact
| Matt Canada College Offensive Coordinator/Head Coach Stats | |||||||
| Year | Games | Team Pass Att. | Team Pass Yds. | Team Pass TDs | QB Carries | QB Rush Yds. | QB Rush TDs |
| 1997 Butler | 10 | 33.20 | 211.80 | 1.20 | 6.70* | 12.40* | 0.20 |
| 2003 Northern Illinois | 12 | 29.17 | 218.92 | 2.08 | 6.67* | -6.67* | 0.33 |
| 2007 Indiana | 13 | 34.23 | 236.38 | 2.15 | 11.69* | 57.00* | 0.69 |
| 2008 Indiana | 12 | 29.83 | 181.25 | 0.92 | 12.67* | 49.50* | 0.58 |
| 2009 Indiana | 12 | 36.50 | 247.92 | 1.42 | 3.42* | -0.75* | 0.25 |
| 2010 Indiana | 12 | 42.75 | 287.17 | 2.08 | 5.17* | 4.25* | 0.25 |
| 2011 Northern Illinois | 14 | 29.00 | 241.86 | 2.07 | 17.07* | 116.07* | 1.00 |
| 2012 Wisconsin | 14 | 20.64 | 156.93 | 1.07 | 4.36* | -2.43* | 0.00 |
| 2013 NC State | 12 | 35.17 | 240.83 | 1.17 | 16.92* | 48.50* | 0.42 |
| 2014 NC State | 13 | 29.23 | 204.00 | 1.85 | 9.92* | 42.62* | 0.23 |
| 2015 NC State | 13 | 31.62 | 210.77 | 1.54 | 11.08* | 29.31* | 0.46 |
| 2016 Pittsburgh | 13 | 24.62 | 221.69 | 2.15 | 5.85* | 24.08* | 0.23 |
| 2017 LSU | 13 | 23.08 | 203.46 | 1.31 | 6.31* | 9.31* | 0.15 |
| 2018 Maryland | 12 | 20.08 | 141.25 | 1.00 | 8.50* | 12.42* | 0.08 |
|
Canada's Career Averages (College OC/HC)
|
175 | 29.74 | 214.29 | 1.58 | 9.09* | 29.21* | 0.35 |
*College statistics include sacks as a rushing statistic
RB Impact
| Matt Canada College Offensive Coordinator/Head Coach Stats | |||||||
| Year | Games | RB Carries | RB Rush Yds. | RB Rush TDs | RB Rec. | RB Rec. Yds. | RB Rec. TDs |
| 1997 Butler | 10 | 30.70 | 124.40 | 1.10 | 2.40 | 14.70 | 0.00 |
| 2003 Northern Illinois | 12 | 33.67 | 167.92 | 1.33 | 2.33 | 22.42 | 0.25 |
| 2007 Indiana | 13 | 23.38 | 98.31 | 0.69 | 3.77 | 31.62 | 0.38 |
| 2008 Indiana | 12 | 22.67 | 112.00 | 1.00 | 1.50 | 21.42 | 0.17 |
| 2009 Indiana | 12 | 23.08 | 99.17 | 0.92 | 2.00 | 12.33 | 0.00 |
| 2010 Indiana | 12 | 20.67 | 83.00 | 0.75 | 2.42 | 19.75 | 0.08 |
| 2011 Northern Illinois | 14 | 21.29 | 105.29 | 1.36 | 2.36 | 28.14 | 0.29 |
| 2012 Wisconsin | 14 | 39.21 | 233.93 | 2.71 | 2.29 | 29.93 | 0.14 |
| 2013 NC State | 12 | 23.25 | 98.17 | 0.75 | 3.17 | 28.58 | 0.17 |
| 2014 NC State | 13 | 25.54 | 140.54 | 1.46 | 3.92 | 36.15 | 0.54 |
| 2015 NC State | 13 | 24.92 | 141.31 | 1.62 | 3.77 | 36.23 | 0.08 |
| 2016 Pittsburgh | 13 | 25.15 | 123.54 | 1.46 | 2.08 | 28.62 | 0.31 |
| 2017 LSU | 13 | 31.62 | 169.62 | 1.54 | 3.38 | 38.54 | 0.15 |
| 2018 Maryland | 12 | 27.25 | 193.50 | 1.67 | 1.58 | 12.42 | 0.08 |
| Canada's Career Averages (College OC/HC) | 175 | 26.62 | 135.95 | 1.33 | 2.66 | 26.22 | 0.19 |
WR Impact
| Matt Canada College Offensive Coordinator/Head Coach Stats | ||||
| Year | Games | WR Rec. | WR Rec. Yds. | WR Rec. TDs |
| 1997 Butler | 10 | 13.50 | 194.10 | 1.20 |
| 2003 Northern Illinois | 12 | 14.33 | 189.83 | 1.58 |
| 2007 Indiana | 13 | 16.15 | 193.92 | 1.69 |
| 2008 Indiana | 12 | 13.00 | 143.17 | 0.75 |
| 2009 Indiana | 12 | 18.67 | 217.50 | 1.25 |
| 2010 Indiana | 12 | 20.75 | 230.17 | 1.42 |
| 2011 Northern Illinois | 14 | 15.14 | 208.79 | 1.64 |
| 2012 Wisconsin | 14 | 6.93 | 91.64 | 0.50 |
| 2013 NC State | 12 | 14.92 | 186.83 | 0.83 |
| 2014 NC State | 13 | 9.92 | 125.62 | 0.69 |
| 2015 NC State | 13 | 7.31 | 93.69 | 0.46 |
| 2016 Pittsburgh | 13 | 7.69 | 128.69 | 1.08 |
| 2017 LSU | 13 | 7.23 | 131.85 | 0.69 |
| 2018 Maryland | 12 | 8.00 | 122.00 | 0.83 |
| Canada's Career Averages (College OC/HC) | 175 | 12.27 | 159.89 | 1.04 |
TE Impact
| Matt Canada College Offensive Coordinator/Head Coach Stats | ||||
| Year | Games | TE Rec. | TE Rec. Yds. | TE Rec. TDs |
| 1997 Butler | 10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 2003 Northern Illinois | 12 | 0.58 | 6.67 | 0.25 |
| 2007 Indiana | 13 | 0.38 | 2.77 | 0.00 |
| 2008 Indiana | 12 | 0.58 | 4.75 | 0.00 |
| 2009 Indiana | 12 | 2.00 | 18.08 | 0.17 |
| 2010 Indiana | 12 | 2.67 | 37.00 | 0.58 |
| 2011 Northern Illinois | 14 | 0.57 | 4.93 | 0.14 |
| 2012 Wisconsin | 14 | 2.86 | 33.43 | 0.43 |
| 2013 NC State | 12 | 2.50 | 23.83 | 0.17 |
| 2014 NC State | 13 | 3.31 | 40.69 | 0.62 |
| 2015 NC State | 13 | 7.77 | 80.62 | 1.00 |
| 2016 Pittsburgh | 13 | 3.00 | 50.54 | 0.38 |
| 2017 LSU | 13 | 2.00 | 23.23 | 0.23 |
| 2018 Maryland | 12 | 0.83 | 6.83 | 0.08 |
| Canada's Career Averages (College OC/HC) | 175 | 2.13 | 24.43 | 0.30 |
Matt Canada Takeaways & Expectations
The 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers will be the first time that Matt Canada will call plays at the level, but that doesn't mean he's inexperienced - Canada has spent 175 games in an offensive coordinator or head coaching role. While the college game is different from the NFL level, we can still make some inferences on how Canada's play-calling will look for the Steelers based on his college career.
In Matt Canada's college career as an offensive coordinator, his offense has averaged 29.74 pass attempts per game. But what's interesting is how few passing attempts his teams have attempted in recent years. In 2016, his team attempted 24.62 passes per game. In 2017, that number went down and his team attempted 23.08 passes per game. And finally, in 2018 Canada's team attempted just 20.08 passes per game. This trend suggests that the Steelers won't be throwing the ball 656 times (41 pass attempts per game) again in 2021 and that the Steelers passing offense could see significantly less usage.
Besides the passing numbers, for fantasy football purposes it's also important to look at some of the rushing numbers of Canada's quarterbacks during his time as an offensive coordinator at the college level. In his 175 game career as a college offensive coordinator, Canada's quarterback room has averaged 9.09 rushing attempts per game.
While sacks are considered a rushing statistic at the college level and may influence the quarterbacks rushing statistics, there's a lot of like in this area with a few seasons where his quarterbacks averaged 10+ carries per game. This is great information to know for the Steelers' next potential franchise quarterback. But for now, considering Ben Roethlisberger is relatively immobile at this stage of his career, we should expect minimal rushing usage from the team's quarterbacks in 2021. Overall, Ben Roethlisberger should simply be viewed as a streaming quarterback at best in 2021.
Jumping to the running back position, it's pretty difficult to compare the college level to the NFL since there can be more blowouts in the college game but we will do our best to project how Canada will use the Steelers' tailbacks. In the 175 games that Canada's been a college offensive coordinator, his running back room has averaged 1.33 rushing touchdowns per game and 26.62 carries per game.
While the college game doesn't translate directly to the pro game, one thing that is likely is that the Steelers will give their running backs the ball more with Canada than they did with Fichtner as the offensive coordinator (20.13 carries per game). Besides the number of carries, the distribution of carries is another important factor in determining a player's fantasy ceiling. So in terms of the distribution of carries, how often is Canada going to give the ball to one player versus rolling with a running back by committee approach?
Examining the data, Matt Canada took more of a bell cow approach the first couple years of his college coaching career but has sat around giving his lead back about 50% of the team's season running back carries in more recent years. Given the Pittsburgh Steelers just spent a 1st round pick on Najee Harris in NFL Draft, it's likely that Canada goes back to his roots of utilizing more of a bell-cow approach for the 2021 NFL season.
The final aspect we should look at concerning Matt Canada's running backs is how much he has traditionally utilized them as pass-catchers. Over the course of his 175 game college coaching career, Roman's running back room averaged 2.66 receptions, 26.22 receiving yards, and 0.19 receiving touchdowns per game. This usage seems to be a little below average from what we've seen from other offensive play-callers and may lower the value of the Steelers running backs in PPR formats.
Overall, Matt Canada should provide his running backs with more carries than Randy Fichtner did, has been successful with both the bell cow and running back by committee approaches, and will utilize his running backs slightly less than the typical offensive coordinator in the passing game. Based on this information, Najee Harris should be a strong RB2 for the 2021 season with the potential to creep into RB1 territory and the team's backup running backs may be worth monitoring as well.
Looking at the wide receiver position, Canada has seen his wide receiver room combine for 12.27 receptions, 159.89 receiving yards, and 1.04 receiving touchdowns per game over the course of his 175 game career as a college offensive coordinator.
As stated earlier, it's difficult to compare the college level to the NFL level. Having said this, it's going to be nearly impossible for Canada to provide the Steelers wide receivers room with a bigger workload than Randy Fichtner has provided. Last year, the Steelers wide receivers room averaged 18.56 receptions, 28.69 targets, 193.5 receiving yards, and 1.88 receiving touchdowns per game.
This workload for a wide receiver room was one of the highest marks the league has ever seen. There's nowhere to go but down and the Steelers wide receiver usage will undoubtedly scale back in 2021. Based on this information, it is likely one or more of the Steelers' three primary receivers (Diontae Johnson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool) do not live up to their fantasy football expectations in 2021 and end up being a disappointment.
Finally, Canada's historical usage of tight ends is fairly mediocre. Over the course of his career as a college offensive coordinator, Canada's tight end room has averaged 2.13 receptions, 24.43 receiving yards, and 0.30 receiving touchdowns per game. From a fantasy football perspective, Eric Ebron should be viewed as a just streamer and not a player you target in your fantasy drafts.
Fantasy Relevant Players: Ben Roethlisberger, Najee Harris, Anthony McFarland, Benny Snell, Jaylen Samuels, Kalen Ballage, Diontae Johnson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool, James Washington, Tylan Wallace, and Eric Ebron
2021 Defense
2021 Head Coach: Mike Tomlin
Mike Tomlin has been one of the best defensive minds in football over the last couple of decades. He served as the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator in 2006 before being hired as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach in 2007. In his time as the Steelers head coach, the team has compiled a 145-78-1 record and never had a losing record. Given Tomlin's defensive background, let's take a look at the defensive statistics his teams have compiled over the course of his career as a defensive coordinator or head coach.
| Year | Games | Points Allowed | Pass Yds Given Up | Run Yds Given Up | Plays Against | Yds/Play | Turnovers Forced |
| 2019 Steelers | 16 | 18.94 | 194.56 | 109.56 | 64.38 | 4.72 | 2.38 |
| 2020 Steelers | 16 | 19.5 | 194.38 | 111.44 | 62.25 | 4.91 | 1.69 |
| Tomlin's Career Averages (DC/HC) | 240 | 19.10 | 211.26 | 93.65 | 61.35 | 4.97 | 1.58 |
2021 Defensive Coordinator: Keith Butler
Keith Butler has been coaching on the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2003 and been the team's defensive coordinator since 2015. Let's take a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers team defensive statistics during Keith Butler's time as the team's defensive coordinator.
| Year | Games | Points Allowed | Pass Yds Given Up | Run Yds Given Up | Plays Against | Yds/Play | Turnovers Forced |
| 2019 Steelers | 16 | 18.94 | 194.56 | 109.56 | 64.38 | 4.72 | 2.38 |
| 2020 Steelers | 16 | 19.5 | 194.38 | 111.44 | 62.25 | 4.91 | 1.69 |
| Butler's Career Averages (DC/HC) | 96 | 20.09 | 222.59 | 102.35 | 62.55 | 5.20 | 1.61 |
The Steelers defense has been lights out the last couple of years, finishing above-average across the board in categories such as points allowed, passing yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, yards per play, and turnovers forced. Given Mike Tomlin and Keith Butler's history of success on the defensive side of the ball and the amount of talent the Pittsburgh Steelers have on defense, the Pittsburgh Steelers D/ST should be one of the first defenses (if not the first defense) off the board in your fantasy drafts.
Other Notable Assistants
Special Teams Coordinator: Danny Smith - Danny Smith has been the Pittsburgh Steelers special teams coordinator since 2013. He's also been a special teams coach for the Philadelphia Eagles (1995-1998), Buffalo Bills (2001-2003), and Washington Redskins (2004-2012) as well as tight ends coach for the Detroit Lions (1999-2000).
QB Coach: Mike Sullivan - Mike Sullivan is new to the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff in 2021. He's been a quarterbacks coach for the New York Giants (2010-2011, 2015) and the Denver Broncos (2018) and also been an offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-2013) and New York Giants (2016-2017).
RB Coach: Eddie Faulkner - Eddie Faulkner has been the Pittsburgh Steelers running backs coach since 2019. The Steelers have been the only NFL team that Faulkner has coached for.
WR Coach: Ike Hilliard - Ike Hilliard joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020 as the team's wide receivers coach. He's previously been an assistant wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins (2011), a wide receivers coach for the Washington Redskins (2012, 2014-2019), and a wide receivers coach for the Buffalo Bills (2013). He also played in the NFL as a wide receiver for the New York Giants (1997-2004) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2005-2008).
TE Coach: Alfredo Roberts - Alfred Roberts is brand new to the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff. He's been a tight ends coach in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-2006), Cleveland Browns (2007-2008), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009-2011), Indianapolis Colts (2012-2015), and Los Angeles Chargers (2020). He also played tight end in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs (1988-1990) and Dallas Cowboys (1991-1993).
OL Coach: Adrian Klemm - Adrian Klemm got promoted from assistant offensive line coach to offensive line coach this past offseason. He previously spent time working in various roles for SMU (2008-2011) and UCLA (2012-2016) and played offensive tackle in the NFL for the New England Patriots (2000-2004) and the Green Bay Packers (2005).
DL Coach: Karl Dunbar - Karl Dunbar has been the Steelers defensive line coach since 2018. He's also been a defensive line coach for the Chicago Bears (2004), Minnesota Vikings (2006-2011), New York Jets (2012-2014), and Buffalo Bills (2015) at the NFL level.
ILB Coach: Jerry Olsavsky - Jerry Olsavsky has been the Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebackers coach since 2015. He played linebacker in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1989-1997) and the Baltimore Ravens (1998).
Secondary Coach: Grady Brown - Grady Brown is brand new to the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff in 2021. He was the defensive coordinator at McNeese State in 2020.
Enjoy this series? Be sure to check out all of the other 'Coaching Matters' team previews: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens
Follow Eli Grabanski on Twitter: @3li_handles
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