The Steelers rarely hire head coaches. In the moves made since Richard Nixon was in the White House, the Steelers consistently have gotten ahead of the curve, spotting a future Hall of Famer before he became a household name.
Most expected that again. A first-time head coach not yet known to the fan base but, thanks to the Rooney imprimatur, destined for greatness.
Instead, Steeler Nation got a Pittsburgh native with 18 years of NFL head-coaching experience, and more firings than Super Bowl appearances. And while it’s possible that Mike McCarthy, who has an 11-11 record in the postseason, will deliver the franchise’s first playoff win since 2016, they’re far more interested in their first Super Bowl win since 2008.
Some of the dismay comes from the decision to pounce on McCarthy before conducting in-person interviews with Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase or Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. Some of it comes from the fact that no one else was seemingly hot on McCarthy’s trail in the current coaching carousel, with McCarthy interviewed by only two teams — the Titans and Giants.
None of the other teams looking for new head coaches (Ravens, Browns, Cardinals, Raiders, Bills, Falcons, Dolphins) were linked to McCarthy. And if any of those teams reached out to McCarthy and he passed because he was waiting for a better opportunity with a more stable organization, there were no reports to that effect.
Go back to January 2025. When McCarthy left the Cowboys, the Jets, Patriots, Jaguars, Raiders, Bears, and Saints were conducting coaching searches. Only the Bears interviewed him.
The NFL, with only 32 teams, is a fairly small, tight-knit operation. Word gets around about the best coaching candidates. The league-wide buzz around McCarthy doesn’t mesh with his objective accomplishments. That’s a red flag for the folks who wave yellow towels.
Much has been made about McCarthy’s track record in comparison to John Harbaugh’s. Both have been to one Super Bowl. Both have won one Super Bowl. Postseason included, McCarthy has coached 310 games, winning 60 percent of them. Harbaugh has coached 317 games. He has won 60.9 percent.
But when Harbaugh became available, an instant land rush emerged for his services. His agent heard from more teams than there were vacancies. The Giants landed the biggest fish in the current cycle, with Harbaugh utilizing rare leverage to squeeze the Giants into reshaping their football operation.
For McCarthy, the vibe has been much different. After he was fired by the Packers during the 2018 season, there was no clamor to hire him in 2019. In the 2025 and 2026 cycles, there was one and only one offer. From the Steelers.
Steelers fans hold their team in very high regard. They believe the Steelers should be the franchise to which candidates with options flock. Despite the similarities between McCarthy’s and Harbaugh’s résumés, Harbaugh’s arrival to the Giants carried the kind of buzz that the Steelers fans would have expected, if the franchise was going to break dramatically from its 57-year history of hiring a future star whose name was not yet widely known.
Really, if they were going the former-coach route, why didn’t the Steelers make a run at Harbaugh? When Mike Tomlin resigned, Harbaugh had not yet begun negotiating a contract with the Giants. Presented with Harbaugh and McCarthy as the two options, it would have been an 80-20 issue for folks in the 412 area code.
And while wins (especially in January) will get fans to warm up to the decision, short-term losses will spark more of the naked vitriol that emerged during the embarrassing November 30 home loss to the Bills.
Consider McCarthy’s first year in Dallas. A Week 9 loss to the Steelers dropped the Cowboys’ record to 2-7. If that’s how 2026 starts for the Steelers, they’ll be chanting “Fire McCarthy” at Penguins games — and Styx will kindly ask the Steelers to cease and desist playing Renegade.
The silver lining in the black and gold cloud that many Steelers fans see brewing is that McCarthy had three straight 12-5 seasons in Dallas. The Steelers have had only two seasons of 12 or more wins since 2011, and none since 2020.
The sooner the Steelers can get that kind of performance out of McCarthy, the sooner Steelers fans will move past the perception that they settled for a coach who, despite his Harbaugh-esque successes, had nowhere else to go.
