Can McCarthy repeat success in Pittsburgh?

It’s coach hiring season in the NFL.

With only four teams remaining fighting for a Super Bowl appearance, the remaining teams who need to fill spots on the sideline are hard at work.

There were a record 10 head coaching vacancies in this hiring cycle, and that doesn’t count all of the coordinator vacancies that also need to be filled.

Some notable hires include former Baltimore Ravens HC John Harbaugh to the New York Giants, former Cleveland Browns HC Kevin Stefanski to the Falcons, and former San Francisco 49ers DC Robert Saleh to the Tennessee Titans.

The most recent hire has social media buzzing.

Mike McCarthy, former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach, has agreed to terms with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

McCarthy brings a winning record to Pittsburgh, the place he called home as a child, and hopes to maintain that success for another storied franchise.

A Standard to Uphold

Head coaching opportunities don’t come along every day, and those opportunities are even fewer and far between for a franchise like the Pittsburgh Steelers.

McCarthy will surely make the best of this opportunity, especially after not garnering any real interest as a head coach for the 2025 season.

Teams came calling after he was fired by the Dallas Cowboys for missing the playoffs for the first time in three years, but they were offering coordinator or advisor positions.

McCarthy wanted to coach, and a year off provided the ideal opening.

Hiring McCarthy seems like a perfect fit for both the Steelers and McCarthy himself.

He grew up in the Pittsburgh area, and his philosophy on toughness and grit fits the standard that the Steelers have been known to uphold.

Another standard in Pittsburgh needs to be upheld: winning.

McCarthy is just the fourth head coach for the Steelers in their franchise history.

The Rooney family doesn’t take hiring head coaches lightly, but they did step out of their comfort zone a bit with this hire.

Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin were all hired without any head coaching experience, but they made an exception for McCarthy.

Perhaps it was the fact he already won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers, and although he didn’t get there with the Dallas Cowboys, he brought a mediocre franchise back to life.

Mike Tomlin never had a losing season in his tenure as head coach of the Steelers, and McCarthy looks to uphold that standard.

An Impressive Resume’

Mike McCarthy will coach a third storied franchise after stints with the Green Bay Packers (2006-2018) and Dallas Cowboys (2020-2024).

He has a Super Bowl victory in Green Bay to go along with just four losing seasons in 13 years coaching there.

McCarthy coached the tail end of QB Brett Favre’s career, and helped develop Aaron Rodgers into the quarterback he is today.

Side note: NFL Network’ Tom Pelissero notes that the Steelers did not hire McCarthy just to see if he can get Aaron Rodgers to come back to Pittsburgh for another season.

The Rooney family really were impressed with his track record and what he can bring to the franchise.

Pittsburgh’s offense needs a revamp, as they have not ranked in the top-10 since the 2018 season.

Many say that the Steelers hired the offensive version of Mike Tomlin, but I don’t think that is a bad thing.

Tomlin never had a losing season in Pittsburgh, even down to the final season before he decided to step down.

McCarthy steps in and will do his best to maintain that standard of winning, this time in the AFC instead of the NFC.

Time will tell if McCarthy can repeat success in the opposite conference for the first time in his career.