The Pittsburgh Steelers were on the hunt for a head coach for the first time in nearly 20 years this offseason after Mike Tomlin decided to step away from the team. Their head coaching search was a quick one, as they settled on Mike McCarthy to lead this team.
They weren’t the only AFC North team in need of a head coach though.
Three out of the four teams in the division found themselves looking for a new head coach. The Browns cut ties with Kevin Stefanski after a stretch of bad seasons, while John Harbaugh was fired for a lack of playoff success.
With the hiring cycle now completed, the Steelers have to be thrilled with the results. Zac Taylor returns to this mix, but we haven’t seen the Bengals thrive under him for quite some time.
Meanwhile, the rest of the coaches provide more questions than answers right now. It could go a long way in keeping the Steelers atop of the division.
The Pittsburgh Steelers just got one step closer to repeating their divisional success
One could argue that McCarthy is the best coach in the AFC North right now. His track record of competitive teams for a long stretch of time is proof of that. You can’t say the same for any of the other coaches.
Taylor found early success and consistently has top-performing offenses, but that has come at a cost. With so much invested in his quarterback and top two receivers, he has failed to develop an offensive line or a defense to boost this team.
In return, Joe Burrow has been injured more often than not, while the defense is susceptible to giving up a lot of points. Those are the reasons the Bengals collapsed the last few seasons, and I don’t see those issues resolving in just one offseason.
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The Ravens, meanwhile, likely made a good hire in Jesse Minter. He was one of my favorite candidates for the Steelers job, and I think he will eventually find success.
That said, it is rare for first-time head coaches to instantly field top teams. The Ravens also have an older roster at some key positions, so regression could be right around the corner. I think Minter could eventually be the top coach in this division, but instant success isn’t a guarantee.
As for the Browns, they continue to be a dumpster fire. They had a good coach in Stefanski, but parted ways, hoping for a fresh start. They struggled to find a coach willing to take the job and ended up settling on Todd Monkin.
It was a name out of nowhere, and it feels like it is hard to get excited over that hire. Bringing him in also infuriated defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who is now set to depart the franchise.
In short, there doesn’t seem to be a lot to build around in Cleveland.
While I don’t believe McCarthy will be an elite coach with the Steelers, he can certainly do enough to keep this team competitive this year. Assuming Aaron Rodgers returns, the division crown should be well within reach, as the rest of the AFC North has some serious questions to answer with their head coaches.