The Pittsburgh Steelers have had two head coaches since 1992: Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. A third was hired on Saturday.
Mike McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native and former Super Bowl-winning head coach, agreed to terms with the Steelers brass to lead the franchise into 2026 and beyond. The 62-year-old took a year off from coaching after a five-year stint with the Dallas Cowboys, but now he’s back in the mix, drawing scattered reviews from fans and analysts alike.
NFL Landscape Reacts to Steelers’ Hiring of Mike McCarthy
The Steelers had just parted ways with Tomlin after 19 seasons earlier this month after losing in the Wild Card round to the Houston Texans. There was hope this would kick-start a new era of Steelers football, but in many minds, bringing aboard McCarthy signals a return to normalcy above all else.
Both Tomlin and McCarthy are similar coaches. In 19 seasons, Tomlin has a record of 193-114-2, including an 8-12 postseason mark and a Super Bowl win. McCarthy, meanwhile, has a 174-112-2 record through 18 seasons, an 11-11 record in the playoffs, and, like Tomlin, one Super Bowl title. That championship was actually earned in Super Bowl 45 over Tomlin’s Steelers when McCarthy was in the middle of his 13-year tenure with the Green Bay Packers.
“What a disastrous process for the Steelers,” wrote Josh Carney of Steelers Depot. He lamented the Steelers not waiting until Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, or passing game coordinator Nate Schleelhaase had become available.
What a disastrous process for the #Steelers. Never even waited to have the two Rams coaches come in.
Rushed to hire a 62-year-old HC that nobody outside of PGH wanted.
Had a chance to complete reset a stale operation. Just went with more of the same.
— Josh Carney (@ByJoshCarney) January 24, 2026
McCarthy has been there and done that. He’s seen a thing or two. That could be either a very good or a terrible thing for the Steelers, who still don’t know who their quarterback will be next season. The arrival of McCarthy could be enough to lure Aaron Rodgers back for another year at the very least; the 42-year-old signal-caller has been adamant that 2025 was his final year in the NFL, but as there always is with Rodgers, there may be some reluctance now.
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Rodgers was drafted by the Packers in 2005, one year before McCarthy was hired as Mike Sherman’s successor as head coach. Rodgers was the Packers’ backup quarterback behind Brett Favre for McCarthy’s first two seasons at the helm, but for the most part, the entirety of McCarthy’s time in Green Bay was spent alongside Rodgers. A reunion feels likely.
“Hard to imagine a more uninspired choice for a franchise in the Steelers’ exact position,” wrote The Athletic’s Robert Mays. “They had an opportunity to reset and take this in a new, potentially exciting direction. And they made the most status quo, “let’s try to win 10 games” choice on the table.
Hard to imagine a more uninspired choice for a franchise in the Steelers’ exact position. They had an opportunity to reset, and take this in a new, potentially exciting direction. And they made the most status-quo, “let’s try to win 10 games” choice on the table. https://t.co/Bl6FQzXyaP
— Robert Mays (@robertmays) January 24, 2026
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell noted that the Steelers went against their typical strategy of hiring first-time defensive coaches, as they’ve done throughout the last several decades.
Having succeeded wildly over the last six decades by hiring young first-time defensive coaches Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin, the Steelers have continued that cycle by hiring … Mike McCarthy https://t.co/rzpkJal3Ze
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) January 24, 2026
It’s beginning to look like the Steelers’ hiring of McCarthy was a slam dunk. Well, at least for rival AFC North fans. Samuel Njoku, the host of “Ravens Talk Podcast”, is likely one of many Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and Cleveland Browns fans doing backflips. He was concerned that the Steelers would ultimately hire Shula to counter the Ravens’ hiring of Jesse Minter, the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator, as their next head coach.
I was not looking forward to Minter vs Shula for the next 20 years.
Thanks Pittsburgh
— Samuel Njoku (@RavensTalkPod) January 24, 2026
Rather than initiating a rebuild, the Steelers went in a different direction to remain competitive.
Joel Moran notes that, while McCarthy is undoubtedly a successful head coach with more than enough experience to lead a room, the Steelers’ motives and path forward remain unclear.
Mike McCarthy isn’t a bad coach.
84-49 record with the Cowboys
3 straight 12 win seasonsBut I thought the Steelers would go with a young coach and rebuild.
This signals that they’ll try and be competitive and win now. Makes zero sense.
— Joel Moran (@joelvmoran) January 24, 2026
The contract hasn’t been finalized yet, but the Steelers officially announced that they had verbally agreed with McCarthy to become the franchise’s next head coach.
