The Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up for an entirely new chapter in their franchise’s storied history. After the 2025 NFL season, Mike Tomlin decided he was stepping away from coaching, and Pittsburgh went out and hired Mike McCarthy to be their next head coach. It was not the most exciting move at first, but it feels as if Steeler Nation has started to come around to the idea of McCarthy being a solid hire for the time being. That will not mean much if he does not end this playoff drought, and fans are not going to give him much leeway. However, McCarthy knew the task he signed up for and is eager to turn things around in his beloved hometown of Pittsburgh.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers' new head coach Mike McCarthy works with quarterback Aaron Rodgers during organized team activities.
During Tomlin’s 19 seasons in charge of the black and gold, there were lots of ups, but there were also plenty of downs, especially since the 2016 season, which was when Pittsburgh’s last playoff win came. The Steelers have been desperately trying to get back into the winning playoff game column, and it even sounded as if Tomlin knew he needed to walk away for that to happen.
Tomlin wanted players like Chris Boswell, TJ Watt, and Cam Heyward to be able to get excited about the optimism of new leadership. Well, based on everything former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has heard via his Footbahlin podcast, the changes have been incredibly refreshing to the players.
"Well, I think from what I heard also is that this new coaching regime has these guys moving, grooving and running," Roethlisberger said. "There is no slowing down, there’s no sitting down. From what I have heard, it’s eye-opening and a big change. Change isn’t always bad by any means."
Steelers fans initially hated the move to hire McCarthy at first because they felt like the team needed a natural retooling of the organization and a rebuild.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers' new head coach Mike McCarthy smiles as he addresses the media during his introductory press conference that took place at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
McCarthy and Team Owner Art Rooney II did not view it that way. The good news for the Steelers is that McCarthy brings plenty of experience.
"I know Tomlin, one of his big things was he didn’t have any issues with guys being in pads. We would be in pads, guys would be hitting, it’s like we are in Week 12 and we are hitting still, like our bodies were beaten up... He gave guys breaks early so Tomlin felt like he could get away with that," Roethlisberger said. "From what I hear with this staff is it’s go go go, and OK, so what’s going to happen on the backend of this, because guys are going so much in camp. It’ll be interesting to see. Obviously McCarthy is not a newbie."
Obviously, there are going to be tons of differences between two different great NFL head coaching styles. Tomlin may not have had much playoff success during the back end of his career, but he did start with it.
Steelers' Hopeful Changes Translate To Wins On The Field
Now McCarthy will look to turn the tide, and to do that, changes need to be made, is what many Steelers fans would say. Well, according to Roethlisberger, it sounds like their wishes are granted for now. Let’s see if that translates to wins on the football field.
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Steelers Team President and Owner Art Rooney II with Head Coach Mike McCarthy at his introductory press conference in 2026.
There are still plenty of unknowns, but based on what Roethlisberger has heard, players have described the changes as eye-opening. So far, the feedback sounds positive.
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