The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering a whole new era with Mike McCarthy taking over as head coach after former head coach Mike Tomlin decided to step down earlier this offseason. Not only has Tomlin left behind a historic legacy in Pittsburgh, but current New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh is also leaving behind a historic legacy of his own in Baltimore. After 18 seasons of facing off against each other, both coaches are on new paths.
In comes McCarthy with the Steelers and former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter with the Ravens. Legendary CBS host Jim Nantz joined The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday to talk about the current state of arguably the best rivalry in the NFL, amidst the changing of the guard in both Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
The Pittsburgh Steelers Are Going to Look Different in 2026
GettyMike McCarthy will be entering his 19th career season as an NFL head coach.
Here is what Nantz had to say about the big changes happening between both teams:
“It’s a bit shocking (Tomlin and Harbaugh) end up leaving their teams at the same time. I’m going to miss it…There’s going to be an interesting, new vibe about it. I’m excited about both of those situations.”
It’s gonna be an interesting new vibe in that division” ~ Jim Nantz #PMSLive
Nantz also mentioned that the Steelers will be intriguing but that the jury is still out on what is going to happen between the organization and future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Nevertheless, McCarthy’s return to the NFL and, more specifically, his return to his hometown of Pittsburgh is fascinating. Given his solid track record of coaching offenses in both Green Bay and Dallas, perhaps the Steelers will likely put more of an emphasis on that side.
Not only has McCarthy coached prolific offenses during his coaching career, but he has also helped mentor and lead some fantastic quarterbacks. At the beginning of his coaching career, he had a hand in coaching Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana while he was with the Kansas City Chiefs. He mentored a young Alex Smith in San Francisco. Most notably, he coached Brett Favre at the end of his storied career in Green Bay before helping turn Rodgers into a legend.
More recently, he turned Dak Prescott into an MVP candidate in Dallas. Now, he will either be tasked with helping Rodgers finish his career off the right way or discovering the next Steelers franchise quarterback.
Mike Tomlin Got the Better of John Harbaugh
GettyMike Tomlin and John Harbaugh faced each other 44 times during their tenures in both Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
As Nantz noted in the interview, not seeing Tomlin and Harbaugh on those sidelines in this rivalry is going to be strange. Including playoffs, Tomlin went 25-19 against Harbaugh. In this annual rivalry between two future Hall of Fame coaches, it is fair to say that Tomlin built much of his legacy on leading his Steelers teams to victory more often than not against Harbaugh and Baltimore.
For Tomlin, his coaching career is being put on pause while Harbaugh’s continues on in the Big Apple. The one thing that is for sure is that if these two ever meet again, it is going to be worth watching.
Jim Nantz Analyzes State of Steelers-Ravens Rivalry