The Pittsburgh Steelers just finished their fourth coaching search in over 50 years as the franchise announced it would be hiring Mike McCarthy as its new head coach on Saturday. The news came as a shock to a lot of fans as many in Pittsburgh wanted the Steelers to go with a younger coach, ideally from one of the top coaching trees that seem to dominate the NFL year in and year out. That is the mold that fans have been begging for in the last few seasons of Mike Tomlin's tenure, but the organization opted to go with more of the same by hiring McCarthy.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike McCarthy during his time coaching the Dallas Cowboys.
McCarthy is a nice change of pace as he is the first offensive-minded head coach the organization has brought in in decades, but he just wasn't the candidate that many fans were clamoring for. Much of the fan base was outraged when the news of his hiring was announced, and things have not seemed to calm down in the two days since the news was reported. Despite the backlash, the organization seems to be doing just fine. The decision-makers feel vindicated and are confident they made the right decision.
The #Steelers feel even more secure about their head coach choice today, given reports on who their frontrunner candidate supposedly was.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) January 26, 2026
These teams and people who hire in general: pick folks who’ve shown you they get the job done.
Time will always tell on you regardless. https://t.co/KqDW3pss0t
Insider Josina Anderson announced on Monday that the Steelers feel good about their decision after watching the Conference Championship games on Sunday. One of Pittsburgh's top candidates to be the team's next head coach was Los Angeles Rams Defensive Coordinator Chris Shula, but his unit did not perform well on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
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Los Angeles Rams Defensive Coordinator Chris Shula against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.
The Rams lost to the Seahawks by a score of 31-27, and the main reason was the defense. Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns, did not turn the ball over, was only sacked once, and his team still lost the game. It came down to Shula's defense, which allowed nearly 400 total yards, while letting Seattle's offense convert on third down over 50 percent of the time. It was a rough showing, but it is also worth nothing that poor game management and a special teams blunder contributed to the loss.
Hopefully the Steelers felt confident about hiring McCarthy before watching Shula's defense collapse. The organization was blasted on social media for not waiting for Shula and Nate Scheelhaase to become available for in-person interviews, but it seems like the organization is completely fine with the way things went and feel extra vindicated after what was seen on Sunday night.
It still needs to be said that Shula is an incredible coach, and he could get a head coaching gig elsewhere. His defense had a bad day, but his unit has been banged up and he's raised the level of play from a lot of guys in Los Angeles. He could have been the right coach for Pittsburgh, but for now, fans will have to see how McCarthy works out.
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New Steelers head coach, Mike McCarthy on the sideline at Lambeau field in Green Bay, Wisconsin as he looks up at the replay board during his head-coaching tenure with the Green Bay Packers.
Steelers Opting For Offense Was The Right Move
Fans wanted Shula, but it was probably time for the franchise to lean into the offensive side of the ball a little more. That is especially true as the organization looks for a solution at quarterback, which is a position that has been a concern for the Steelers over the last four seasons. McCarthy can seemingly help fix that by developing a quarterback, while also alleviating some of the concern of not having a franchise player at quarterback with his play-calling abilities.
What do you think about the Steelers feeling confident about their decision? Let us know in the comments below!
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