Pittsburgh Steelers fans have largely been up in arms over the team's decision to hire veteran coach Mike McCarthy as their next Head Coach. Many were expecting one of the several younger, higher upside candidates to ultimately get the job, just as the Steelers have done with each of their last three hirings.
They chose to break from historical trends to go with the 62-year-old McCarthy, who now gets the rare chance to lead a third franchise. One of the biggest gripes with the hire was the timing of it, as they didn't wait to interview the presumptive favorite for the job, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, after he finished coaching in the NFC Championship game.
Rams passing game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase was also reportedly in the running for the job, and yet, they never bothered to meet with either of them. Owner Art Rooney II spoke with Bob Labriola of Steelers.com on Sunday about his decision to hire McCarthy, and his comments only heightened fans' frustrations.
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II digs himself a deeper hole with comments on the decision to hire Mike McCarthy
Rooney had plenty to say about the McCarthy hiring, but it's his statement on the search itself that has fans riled up, and for good reason. Here is what he had to say about the decision to offer McCarthy the job so quickly.
"We wound up bringing in three guys for in-person interviews: Brian Flores, Mike McCarthy, and Anthony Weaver, and then we sat down and talked about whether we had our man, or if we wanted to bring in more people for in-person interviews," Rooney said. "We decided that Mike was the man for the job, and so we went ahead and offered him the job on Saturday."
It's truly hard to fathom the idea that an older coach, with a playoff record nearly as poor as that of the previous HC Mike Tomlin over the last decade, was so convincing in his interview that they couldn't wait to meet with the real top candidates left on the market. It is a dreadful process that ultimately led to the proverbial "meat and potatoes" pick of McCarthy.
This hire proves that Rooney II is more concerned about the here and now than he is about leading the Steelers back to Super Bowl contention. McCarthy could very well keep the Steelers' 22-season streak of non-losing seasons going in 2026, but for what? To pretend that they are anything more than fodder for whoever they might play in the playoffs?
I think I can speak for most fans by saying that staying mildly competitive cannot continue to be the goal, but that's what this hire is most likely to result in. Hopefully, McCarthy proves everyone wrong. But nothing about his recent track record suggests he will.