Steelers' Mike McCarthy Already Proving His Quarterback Evaluations Are Light-years Above Mike Tomlin's Love Of "Moxie"

The Pittsburgh Steelers are hoping for one big change after hiring Mike McCarthy to be the head coach: develop the future franchise quarterback. They have not been able to successfully draft and develop a passer since Bill Cowher was the leader of the team. It doesn't matter who becomes the next face of the franchise, as long as someone comes in and proves that he can throw the ball well at the NFL level and process what opposing defenses are trying to do to him. The organization can't keep expecting veteran bridge options to get the job done. 

In his recent mailbag, insider Mike DeFabo was asked about the biggest difference between McCarthy and former head coach Mike Tomlin. As with everything else, it starts at the quarterback position.

"It’s the way they talk about the quarterback position," DeFabo said. "When Mike Tomlin talked about the QB, he’d speak in intangibles. Grit. Moxie. Poise. Winner. When Mike McCarthy talks about the quarterback, he goes into great detail about the five-step drop and how each step has a specific name and function. He discusses arm angles and uses words like 'ground force' to describe how power is generated from the QB’s feet. He’s simply an expert in the sport’s most important position."

As a defensive-minded coach, Tomlin was never specifically used to help develop a quarterback until he became the leader of the Steelers. He was not well-versed in what makes a good passer, so he tried to learn on the fly and translate his knowledge of working with defenses to that position. Under his guidance, no player truly developed into anything more than a decent backup option.

Arguably the biggest issue with Tomlin wasn't his lack of knowledge on the subject, but his refusal to get help. He could have deferred his decision to an offensive coordinator or quarterback coach that understands the position better. Instead, he was dead set on what he was looking for and how he wanted that player to develop, even though it never truly worked out for him or the player that came in. 

Meanwhile, McCarthy has worked as an offensive-minded coach for many decades. He was a quarterback coach and an offensive coordinator before getting his first chance to be the main man at the helm. He has been around multiple types of passers in his career, and many people believe that he is a quarterback whisperer of sorts. That is why he got hired by Pittsburgh in the first place.

Steelers Will Likely Give McCarthy Multiple Chances To Develop A Quarterback

The first choice for McCarthy to develop will be Will Howard, especially with how he and many others have spoken so highly of him as of late. The former sixth-round pick in 2025 has supposedly shown immense growth in his extremely limited practice reps, although his abilities are yet to be seen in any sort of game setting. 2026 will be his first preseason action, as long as he does not suffer another major fluke injury. 

The Steelers are also expected to select a quarterback somewhere in the middle rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft, whether Aaron Rodgers returns or not. At this point, the Steelers need to keep maximizing their options and provide some healthy competition for Howard. It's rare that non-first-rounders develop well, so until there's someone worth drafting in the first round, they need to keep stacking up on lottery tickets.

What do you think about the difference between how Tomlin and McCarthy view the quarterback position, as well as how the new head coach plans to develop passers? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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