There was often a divide between Pittsburgh Steelers media and national media over how to view head coach Mike Tomlin. The same divide occurred for the team’s next head coach on his first day — Mike McCarthy.
While the national media pushed the McCarthy “coming home” to Pittsburgh narrative and touted his experience as an NFL quarterback developer, local media was not nearly as kind.
On Saturday, different Steelers beat writers and Pittsburgh sports radio pundits called the McCarthy hire “short-sighted,” “bland,” “stale,” “tone deaf,” and a “disaster.”
A lot of the criticism was targeted at Steelers team president Art Rooney II.
“Short-sighted, scared hire,” wrote 93.7 The Fan’s Chris Mueller. “Didn’t even do a second interview with Rams guys. Terrible process.
“Unless Scheelhaase is coming as OC/head coach in waiting, this is a disaster.”
Unless Scheelhaase is coming as OC/head coach in waiting, this is a disaster.
Longtime Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly defended the decision to hire McCarthy. PennLive.com’s Nick Farabaugh did not.
“This is about as bland of a hire the Steelers could get on any level,” wrote Farabaugh. “McCarthy was let go in DAL in large part because he couldn’t win a playoff game.”
It’s like banging your head into the wall repeatedly time and time again and expecting something different.
The Steelers have lost seven consecutive postseason contests.
NFL Media Rips Steelers, Art Rooney II for Hiring Mike McCarthy
It’s one thing for fans to criticize a new hire. There was plenty of that with McCarthy and the Steelers on Saturday.
There’s plenty of that pretty much with every major NFL decision.
But these tweets are from pundits who make a living covering and talking about the Steelers and/or the NFL.
NFL betting expert Nick Kostos joked about the Steelers’ potential head coach-quarterback combo being the same one that failed with the Green Bay Packers nearly 10 years ago.
“Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers was stale in 2018 … so let’s run it back in 2026!!”
DISASTER.
The Athletic’s Robert Mays portrayed the McCarthy hire as a missed opportunity for the Steelers.
“Hard to imagine a more uninspired choice for a franchise in the Steelers’ exact position,” wrote Mays. “They had an opportunity to reset, and take this in a new, potentially exciting direction.
“And they made the most status-quo, ‘let’s try to win 10 games’ choice on the table.”
Pittsburgh sports columnist Rob Rossi might have been the most bleak.
“Not sure how much more evidence anyone needs to recognize the late, great Dan Rooney was who made the Steelers a standard-bearing franchise,” wrote Rossi.
“The Steelers Way died with him.”
The Steelers Way died with him.
There were many others too.
Former Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell Posts Reaction to McCarthy Hire
Ex-Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell joined the fray Saturday afternoon too.
Bell has come to the defense of Tomlin a couple times over the past couple months. He did the same Saturday, sarcastically jabbing at Steelers fans with the McCarthy hire.
“4-13 incoming .. but hey, at least Mike Tomlin isn’t the coach of the Steelers anymore, right?”
Bell, though, seems to be missing the point. Hiring McCarthy increases the likelihood the Steelers don’t bottom out and go 4-13. McCarthy has won fewer than six games once in his 18 NFL seasons.
Inexperienced candidates such as Chris Shula and Nate Scheelhaase come with risk. They could go 4-13 in their first seasons as head coach.
But one poor season could jump start a rebuild. But right now, Rooney is failing to see the benefit of that.
“I’m not sure why you waste a year of your life not trying to contend,” Rooney told reporters on January 14. “Obviously, your roster is what it is every year. It changes every year, and so you deal with, you know, what you have every year and try to put yourself in position to compete every year.
“Sometimes you have the horses, sometimes you don’t, but I think you try every year.”
Rooney added that he doesn’t like the word, “rebuild.”
McCarthy appears to have a high floor, low ceiling. The same was true for Mike Tomlin after the Ben Roethlisberger era.
That’s why Steelers fans, and the team’s local media too, were outraged over the McCarthy hire Saturday.
Pittsburgh Media Rips Steelers ‘Scared’ Decision to Hire Mike McCarthy