The Pittsburgh Steelers have seen many differences with the recent regime change, and most of them have been praised. Despite his age, Head Coach Mike McCarthy has been seen as a much-needed breath of fresh air after Mike Tomlin's tactics and philosophies went stale. It has become clear that change was desperately needed to make any sort of attempt at getting out of this cycle of constant mediocrity. Hopefully, the organization can take the steps necessary to move into the future and not be so enamored with how things worked in the past.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin meets with ex-Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy after a game.
As time goes on, McCarthy gets praised in more ways for how he's doing what Tomlin wouldn't. It happened again right before the final week of Organized Team Activities began. While making an appearance on Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show, insider Gerry Dulac spoke about McCarthy staying in his lane and how exactly he's doing that.
"I haven't seen [Mike McCarthy] wander down," Dulac said. "Mike Tomlin liked to do that. He liked to have his eyes and his hands on everything, and so far, not the same with McCarthy. He's an offensive guy and a quarterback guy in particular."
In theory, having the head coach keep a watchful eye of everything that's going on is not a bad thing, especially for a CEO-type coach like Tomlin was. He could make sure everyone was doing their part and no one was slacking off everywhere while the men that he hired ran the drills for him. It sounds like a great idea until you get to the primary issues with the team.
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Ex-Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin roams the practice field as his team works out during a 2025 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Many believe that the sheer amount of control that Tomlin had over his team was way too much over the years, and especially towards the end of his tenure in Pittsburgh. He would seemingly watch over everything like Big Brother and make sure everyone was following his plans and doing things exactly how he wanted.
McCarthy seems to know that he doesn't know everything. Sometimes, the sign of a good coach is being able to swallow your pride and hire someone to do a job for you. In this case, the new leader knows that he's not a good defensive mind, so he hired Patrick Graham to have total control over that side of the ball with plenty of trust that he knows what he's doing.
McCarthy's lane is on offense, especially with the quarterback position. He can't be the quarterback whisperer that the team expects him to be if he's making sure Graham and his assistants are doing their job on the other side of the practice field. The trust that they have with each other allows him to focus on his true desires of working to get the quarterbacks developed.
Steelers Allowed Tomlin To Get Way Too Comfortable
When Tomlin was first hired, the roles were very defined. Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians ran the offense while legendary Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau ran the defense. That didn't mean the head coach was bad at his job. His strengths were his ability to relate to the players and always keep them motivated. Throughout his career, he was second to none in that regard, and that chemistry led to a Super Bowl victory.
ESPN
Late Steelers Owner Dan Rooney alongside former head coach Mike Tomlin and former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after a victorious Super Bowl XLIII.
As those coaches left, Tomlin started gaining more control. Trusted coaches were brought in to help him do things his way. The biggest issue here is that ownership never made an attempt to stop it. The Steelers enabling Tomlin led to him running the team like he's Jerry Jones, and that's where the need for change came. That's why McCarthy staying in his lane is such a positive.
What do you think about McCarthy sticking with his strengths and not watching everything like Tomlin did? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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