The 2025 NFL season has finally come to an end, with the Seattle Seahawks defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX. The offseason had already begun for the rest of the NFL, but things will begin to ramp up in the coming weeks. The Pittsburgh Steelers have already made their biggest decision of 2026, hiring Mike McCarthy to replace long-time head coach Mike Tomlin.
That decision was met with significant criticism, and the results of this year's playoffs have only added fuel to the fire. The Seahawks sudden rise back into the spotlight shows that there are many ways to find success in the modern NFL, and yet, the Steelers seem uninterested in any of them.
The opportunity to pursue a similar path to Seattle was available to Pittsburgh, but they shunned the chance in favor of something safer and more familiar. Doing so could set them back for years.
Seahawks Super Bowl run shows that the Pittsburgh Steelers are far from true contention
The Steelers' hiring of McCarthy is not without merit, and the story is admittedly fun given his Pittsburgh roots and obvious passion for the job. However, the decision was almost universally panned for a reason.
McCarthy is not only on his third chance at running a team, but he has failed in the playoffs in a similar fashion to the departing Tomlin over the past decade. He is a high-floor, low-ceiling coach who isn't going to suddenly change his approach as he approaches his mid-60s. Meanwhile, outside of Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid (who just had his worst season in over a decade), the NFL's top coaches are almost exclusively under 50.
Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, Dan Campbell (who is about to turn 50), DeMeco Ryans, and now Mike McDonald are all coaches who are still young and innovative enough to continue adding tools to their toolbox. Several HC candidates this cycle, like the Seahawks' very own offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, fall into the same category.
Even the Steelers' rival went in that direction, as the Ravens hired 42-year-old Jesse Minter to replace John Harbaugh. Smart teams are betting on guys that are much more like Minter and Kubiak than McCarthy, and it's why the Steelers could be in for a disappointing 2026 and beyond.
With rumors swirling about another season with Aaron Rodgers at QB as well, it's getting harder and harder to imagine a scenario where Steelers fans can be excited for the upcoming season. Even if the young coaches hired this cycle fail in their new homes, at least the teams that hired them strived for something beyond mediocrity. The same unfortunately can't be said of the Steelers.