The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Mike McCarthy as the fourth head coach in the franchise’s history on Saturday as Mike Tomlin’s successor.
Now the hard work begins in attempting to restore the Steelers’ brand to the top of the NFL, where many feel such a prestigious organization belongs. Owner and team president Art Rooney sounded optimistic about McCarthy’s hiring when speaking with Steelers.com about their new head coach.
“He is someone who has a longer track record than many of the other candidates, a winning track record,” Rooney told Bob Labriola of Steelers.com. “He’s been a winner everywhere he’s been. Probably just as important for our purposes, the quarterbacks that he’s worked with have all been very successful. So he has a proven track record of developing top-flight quarterbacks. Those are the things that maybe stick out the most.”
McCarthy has a long history of working with and helping develop young quarterbacks in the NFL. He arrived in Green Bay as head coach in 2006, which was Aaron Rodgers’ second year in the NFL. Rodgers would sit behind veteran quarterback Brett Favre before taking over the starting role in 2008. McCarthy played a big part in Rodgers’ development, having been an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach prior to joining the Packers. He also played a major role in Dak Prescott’s progression in Dallas for five years.
Advertisement
That experience and track record as a quarterback guy and Super Bowl-winning head coach is what pushed McCarthy to the forefront ahead of other candidates. Being a Pittsburgh native didn’t hurt McCarthy’s candidacy, either. However, McCarthy’s hire in Pittsburgh is a change from the norm and precedent this franchise had set. Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin were all defensive coaches who approached the game as such. For the first time, Pittsburgh is going in the opposite direction at the head coach position and likely overall team philosophy.
Rodgers’ history with McCarthy is also interesting, with the former’s future up in the air. They won Super Bowl XLV together, beating the Steelers for the Packers’ fourth Lombardi trophy. While that wasn’t the main reason for McCarthy’s hiring, again, it didn’t hurt. Whether Rodgers returns may not be known for a few months, but that familiarity will mean something if he’s back in Pittsburgh for the 2026 campaign.
“I hesitate to say that’s No. 1. I think No. 1 is we want a coach who’s going to lead the team to win a championship,” Rooney said. “But maybe high on the list after that is someone who can develop a quarterback. And since sooner or later we’re going to be working with a young quarterback here, I think Mike’s ability to develop the next quarterback is something that certainly is important to us.”
Rooney also mentioned how McCarthy feels about some of the other quarterbacks aside from Rodgers on the roster, and working with them. Obviously, if Rodgers is back next season, he’ll be the starter, but McCarthy will be working with a young quarterback like Will Howard who was drafted just last year. It also wouldn’t be a shock to see the Steelers take another quarterback somewhere in this year’s draft.
“He likes Will Howard, thinks Will has tremendous upside and is looking forward to working with him,” Rooney said. “Obviously feels like Mason can be a contributor. We’ll have to sit down and discuss where Aaron is, if he decides to come back, and whether that all makes sense. I think Mike was very comfortable with the quarterback room and the possibilities with the quarterback room. In particular, the fact we have a young quarterback on the roster in whom he sees some upside.”
In 18 years as an NFL head coach, McCarthy’s Green Bay and Dallas teams won nearly 61% of their games with a 174-112 record in the regular season. The Packers made the postseason in nine of McCarthy’s 13 seasons there, winning the Super Bowl to close out the 2010 campaign. During his five years leading the Cowboys, Dallas made the playoffs three times, including three consecutive 12-win seasons.
Leave a Reply