The Pittsburgh Steelers had a disappointing end to what was a somewhat fun season in 2025. At times, it felt like the team would be able to make some noise in the postseason, but that never came to fruition as Pittsburgh lost once again in the Wild Card Round, this time at the hands of the Houston Texans by a score of 30-6. Former head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down the following day. This came as a shock to some, while others saw the writing on the wall when it came to the end of Tomlin's time with the organization.
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin during a regular season game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 in East Rutherford, NJ.
Tomlin was the head coach in Pittsburgh for 19 seasons. It is going to be shocking to see Mike McCarthy on the sidelines in 2026 rather than Tomlin, and it will take some getting used to for the players on the roster. In between McCarthy being hired and Tomlin stepping down, the players on the roster did not have any idea what was going to happen. Left tackle Dylan Cook recently made an appearance on the ButteCast show where he was asked about the situation, and he shared that there was a bit of panic amongst the players after hearing the news.
"We're alright, we're good, the sky isn't truly falling, we'll be back," Cook said. "Next year, we got a lot of guys coming back. And then Coach T resigned and we're like, 'Yeah, okay, the sky's falling.' No clue what's going on in the future, as a collective that's all we were saying. 'They cleaned house.' I was really looking forward to those exit meetings just to hear what they thought. I had heard it before, but I wanted maybe a formal, closed-door meeting. Let's talk turkey here."
The players on the team seemed to be pleased with the fact that a lot of the same guys were returning for the 2026 season, but that feeling quickly went away after Tomlin announced to the team that he would be stepping down. Players immediately panicked, and it probably also led some guys to start worrying about their job security. Nothing is guaranteed once a new head coach comes to down, and that leaves the future of a lot of guys up in the air.
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Steelers offensive lineman Dylan Cook looks down at the playing surface as he walks around while the team works out during a 2025 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Cook was transparent and said it felt like the sky was falling after hearing the news; players didn't know what direction the team was going to go in. It felt like the organization was cleaning house, but those feelings likely settled after the hiring of McCarthy. McCarthy is a coach that is brought in to win immediately, so the organization does not plan on having any down years.
There has not been a ton of current players that have spoken about the hiring of McCarthy, however. Only two active players attended his introductory press conference, so it will be interesting to see how the situation unfolds as things get underway.
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Mike McCarthy coaching on the sidelines during an away game as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
Steelers' Mike McCarthy Has A Decision To Make At Left Tackle
Cook came on late in the season after injuries thrust him into the starting lineup at left tackle. He wound up playing like one of the better left tackles in the league during that time, and McCarthy will have a tough decision to make as Cook and former first-round pick Broderick Jones will be fighting for the starting job. Cook has probably played better than Jones, but it has been a smaller sample size. The two should be competing in a highly-anticipated battle throughout training camp before the 2026 season begins.
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