Just when Pittsburgh Steelers fans were starting to have hope of new life after Mike Tomlin, the team does something like this. After compiling a strong list of interview candidates for the vacant head coaching position, the latest request is hardly what any fan asked for.
On Sunday, ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported that the Steelers are expected to speak with Mike McCarthy about the head coaching position in Pittsburgh.
McCarthy, who most recently served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, worked with Steelers general manager Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl briefly in New Orleans in 2000.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans are already furious over the Mike McCarthy head coaching interview request
At 62, McCarthy is nearly a decade older than Mike Tomlin. As fans beg the organization to get younger and more innovative, this potential HC candidate feels like a step in the wrong direction.
McCarthy is best known for his Super Bowl run with the Green Bay Packers; he was the head coach of the Packers from 2006 to 2018, where quarterback Aaron Rodgers strung together a Hall of Fame career. This included a Super Bowl win over the Steelers following the 2010 season.
Since then, McCarthy coached the Cowboys from 2020 to 2024, where he led Dallas to an impressive record of 84-29. McCarthy's time with the Cowboys included an offense that finished inside the top-five twice while his team recorded a top-five defensive finish in 2023, per Pro Football Reference.
Unfortunately, this five-year tenure of the highly-touted head coach was accompanied by just one playoff victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round after the 2022 season. McCarthy lost three other postseason games in Dallas, which ultimately led to his departure.
While McCarthy was considered one of the best coaches of the past generation, he doesn't feel like the head coach the Steelers need (and certainly not the one fans want).
After closing the chapter on Mike Tomlin, the majority of Steelers fans are hoping that team president Art Rooney II and Omar Khan will opt for a young hire who can bring energy and excitement to the organization. McCarthy doesn't fit that description.
The Steelers may be meeting with McCarthy because he's a Pittsburgh native who has expressed an interest in coaching this team in the past. However, after Schefter reported on this meeting regarding the Steelers' head coaching vacancy, we can't rule this out as a legitimate option.