Steelers, Mike Tomlin not willing to 'shoot a hostage'

Changes are coming with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but not just to make a change.

To put it another way, loquacious head coach Mike Tomlin offered this analogy on Tuesday to those clamoring for him to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

"I'm open to it," Tomlin said of making changes to the offense. "And I remain open to it. But I don't intend to change for the sake of changing. To shoot a hostage."

Pressed in his players-day-off press conference Tuesday, Tomlin didn't offer a ringing endorsement of Canada or his floundering offense.

Asking how confident he is in Canada's game-planning and preparation, Tomlin scoffed.

"Confident," he said. "But confidence means very little. It's what's on tape."

Mired in a four-game tailspin since a 23-20 Week 1 victory at Cincinnati, the Steelers have changed quarterbacks and shuffled playing time at other positions, including running back, trying to find a spark. Pittsburgh has six offensive touchdowns in five games and the Steelers have been outscored 128-77. The minus-51 differential is by far the largest negative differential in the NFL.

Tomlin said he's confident in rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, referring to him as "varsity" despite four interceptions and no TD passes in two games. He replaced starter Mitchell Trubisky mid-game in Week 4 and started Week 5 in a 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The Steelers host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2) on Sunday and then go to Miami in Week 7 and Philadelphia (Week 8) before a bye week.