It was the press conference we've all been waiting for. After moving on from Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers quickly decided to go with Mike McCarthy as their new head coach, and the long-time NFL coach was about to take the podium for the first time with his new team.
This was the first introductory head coach presser for the Steelers in nearly 20 years. While the majority of the fanbase wasn't fond of the team's decision to go with McCarthy, they showed up to listen and give him the benefit of the doubt.
But it only took one opening comment from Art Rooney II to anger fans all over again.
Rooney, the Steelers' owner and team president, came under fire for shortchanging the head coaching hiring process. The Steelers met in-person with just three prospects for Tomlin's old job. And just a matter of hours after satisfying the 'Rooney Rule', the team announced that McCarthy got the job.
Many fans called Rooney biased—offering the job to the hometown candidate without doing his homework on the quality pool of head coaching options on the market.
And their might be some truth to this.
In Rooney's opening statements during McCarthy's first Steelers press conference, he was quick to gloat over the fact that McCarthy is from Pittsburgh.
"Good afternoon. Thanks, everybody, for being with us on this special occasion. It may be irrelevant to some of you, but I like the fact that today is my grandfather's birthday, and he would have loved the fact that we are hiring a guy from Greenfield [Pittsburgh] as our [head] coach."
Rooney quickly noted that McCarthy being from Greenfield had little to do with the decision, and that it was all about the head coach's track record in the NFL. But fans aren't buying it.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans just got another reminder of why they don't believe in Art Rooney II's decision-making
Before hiring McCarthy, Art Rooney II made it clear that he, along with general manager Omar Khan, would be making the call on hiring the next head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While we were surprised that Rooney made the head coach decision before even meeting face-to-face with respectable candidates like Rams' defensive coordinator Chris Shula or passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, we weren't surprised at his reasoning for going with McCarthy.
There's no question McCarthy's impressive resume played the biggest factor in the hire, but we're not going to sit here and act like the team's new head coach growing up just minutes from Acrisure Stadium meant nothing.
This wouldn't be the first time the Steelers have favored local products. In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Steelers spent the 20th overall pick to select Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett. His local connection and familiarity with the facility played a factor.
Even if Rooney's motives were pure and he chose McCarthy for all of the right reasons, his comments on Mike McCarthy being Greenfield are enough to anger fans who were already questioning the team president's decision at head coach.