The Pittsburgh Steelers are closing in on a deal to make Mike McCarthy their next head coach, league sources told The Athletic. The move comes less than two weeks after Mike Tomlin stepped down after 19 seasons as the Steelers’ head coach.
McCarthy, 62, most recently served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers. His crowning achievement came following the 2010 season, when he and Aaron Rodgers defeated the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
A Pittsburgh native who grew up enamored with the Chuck Noll dynasty of the 1970s, McCarthy now has an opportunity to return to his roots, becoming the franchise’s fourth head coach since Noll was hired in 1969. His father, Joe McCarthy Jr., was a firefighter who owned a bar in the Greenfield neighborhood.
While the Steelers have a long history of employing homegrown football guys, this hire is outside of their normal mold in many ways. Traditionally, the Steelers have favored young, defensive-minded head coaches who have provided stability and continuity for decades. Noll was 37 when he was hired. Bill Cowher was 34, and Tomlin was 34. All three stepped down before their 60th birthday.
McCarthy will be the second-oldest head coach in the league, behind only the 67-year-old Andy Reid. (Todd Bowles, Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton are also 62, but they were born later in 1963 than McCarthy). He is the first head coach over the age of 60 that the franchise has ever employed.
In addition to his age, McCarthy’s specialty also bucks a 50-plus-year trend, as his expertise is on the offensive side of the ball. Early in his NFL journey, he coached quarterbacks with the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers before moving on to offensive coordinator positions with the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. When he was with the Saints (2000-2004), McCarthy crossed paths with two young staffers — Omar Khan and Andy Weidl. Those two men now serve as the Steelers’ GM and assistant GM, respectively.
During his combined 18 years as a head coach, McCarthy compiled a record of 174-112-2 and a playoff record of 11-11. He qualified for the postseason in 12 of his 18 seasons. Both of his previous head coaching opportunities ended in his dismissal. The Packers fired McCarthy in 2018 after a 4-7-1 start. The Cowboys moved on after a 7-10 season in 2024, during which quarterback Dak Prescott was limited to eight games.
While McCarthy’s age is the most glaring question mark on his résumé, his greatest asset may be his experience working with quarterbacks. Over the course of his career, he’s spent time with Joe Montana, Rich Gannon, Brett Favre, Rodgers and Prescott. The Steelers are in their current situation — in part — because the franchise has struggled to identify and develop a successor to Ben Roethlisberger. In hiring McCarthy, the Steelers are making a bet that an experienced offensive mind can help propel the franchise forward at the most important position.
The process of finding their next quarterback might not be a quick one. While the Steelers have been stockpiling assets and will have a projected 11 selections in this year’s draft, a class that was once believed to be rich with first-round QB talent looks leaner than expected. At the same time, Rodgers appears to be at least leaving the door open for 2026. The now-42-year-old quarterback told people within the Jets organization a few years ago that McCarthy would be one of the few coaches he’d want to play for again. While it’s unwise to guess what Rodgers might do next — and when — the new Steelers coach would seem to increase the likelihood of a second season in Pittsburgh.
