Let’s Wait On McCarthy

[Who Dee Knee]

Look, I get it. The big question wasn’t whether the Steelers would announce an in-person interview with Shula or Scheelhaase. The question was were they planning to interview BOTH Shula and Scheelhaase.

I had Shula and Scheelhaase co-favorites, with Weaver and McCarthy dark horses.

So I was shocked when I heard the news. And, truthfully, initially a little disappointed, particularly considering neither Shula or Scheelhaase got a second interview. Neither Shula or Scheelhaase could do anything in a second interview that could have changed the Steelers minds? Or was it that the Steelers couldn’t do anything in a second interview to change either Shula’s and Scheelhaase’s minds?

As you know, the fan reaction has ranged from anger, to disappointment, to resignation.

But after giving myself 12 hours to soak this in, and while I wouldn’t necessarily have called the choice “inspired”, I myself am willing to give McCarthy a chance before final judgment.

He’s always gotten the most out of the QBs he’s had, with not only future HOFs such as Rodgers and Prescott, but others such as Rich Gannon.

While he’s apparently not connected to McVay, he’s a hell of a lot more modern than OSU’s new OC.

Speaking of an OC, no preseason analysis of this hire can be made until we see the quality (or lack thereof) of the staff. I would expect that McCarthy, with all of his connections in about thirty years of NFL experience, will field a strong staff.

Look, with the compensatory picks we are scheduled to have, we will have 12 draft picks in this draft. Talent can be fortified at literally every position. Get the staff right and then have a good and deep draft, the kind where we might be able to win immediately with a plug and play QB. Find a couple of future pro bowlers and another two or three solid starters.

I DO have more confidence than I did with Tomlin in McCarthy’s ability to identify and develop the third great Steeler QB of my lifetime, whether that takes just this cycle or the next.

So I’m wait and see.

[CKSteeler]

You can try to sell yourself on him as a bridge to develop a QB and some young guy takes over down the road. I can even sell myself on him being a slight upgrade on Tomlin given the state of the league etc.

But this just isn't the guy you bring in to sell to your fans that you are honestly and genuinely pursuing championships. I believe that Art II thinks he is actually doing that. He just doesn't think like us asshats at all. A guy who has had a lot of talent over the years but squandered it in an almost historic fashion isn't the guy the to replace Tomlin to me.

It's status quo. It's more of the same shit with an offensive bent etc. McCarthy is in many respects notoriously lazy as far as head coaches go. Those stories have circulated for years with him.

They could have taken a swing for the fences like in the past. Taken a risk. Fans would have embraced it and even if it didn't work out completely, they would have been happy with the attempt. At least most, the ones who are stupidly loyal to Mike fucking Tomlin and looking to rub other fans noses in shit for his departure.

Art II was too fearful of that and picked a guy who basically is just delaying the inevitable change the org desperately needs.

I could see the same cycle repeating. By which I mean the org will be competitive under McCarthy at some point, but they'll be Lucy with the football at the end of the day.

[6Trophies]

[6Trophies]

[Dan Smith--BYU]

So they hired a very good offensively minded proven coach vs a younger unrproven coordinator who may or may not be good in the long run.

They weren't going to be good next year no matter what but I'm sure the hysterics here will blame that on the coach.

If he sucks after two years let the bitching began, until then this is all noise.

I can't stand Rooney either but some of this shit is over the top.

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

So they hired a very good offensively minded proven coach vs a younger unrproven coordinator who may or may not be good in the long run.

They weren't going to be good next year no matter what but I'm sure the hysterics here will blame that on the coach.

If he sucks after two years let the bitching began, until then this is all noise.

I can't stand Rooney either but some of this shit is over the top.

The problem with this is a McCarthy offense these days is as risk averse as a Tomlin offense

He’s lazy and content

This is another favoritism hire and. A terrible one

It won’t take 2 years it will be officially a tire fire by week 6

[Steeldrama]

Let’s Wait On McCarthy

Too bad someone within the Steelers organization didn’t tell Art the same thing.

Hopefully it eventually comes out that the Rams coaches and Klint told Rooney thanks but no thanks.

Otherwise why not wait another week to interview the young studs with actual coaching UPSIDE?

Ohhh yeah right

Mikes gonna need to get cracking on hiring his coaching staff

Heaven forbid he misses out on the next Ben McAdoo

Sell the team indeed

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

Let’s Wait On McCarthy

Too bad someone within the Steelers organization didn’t tell Art the same thing.

Hopefully it eventually comes out that the Rams coaches and Klint told Rooney thanks but no thanks.

Otherwise why not wait another week to interview the young studs with actual coaching UPSIDE?

Ohhh yeah right

Mikes gonna need to get cracking on hiring his coaching staff

Heaven forbid he misses out on the next Ben McAdoo

Sell the team indeed

I think that may be the issue, the owner/franchise reports of late about Rooney are true and no matter how much Art dislikes those reports, he can control that but he’s a cheap lazy owner

[Steelperch]

A washed up once fired coach vs a washed up twice fired coach. So inspiring!

[Steeldrama]

So they hired a very good offensively minded proven coach vs a younger unrproven coordinator who may or may not be good in the long run.

They weren't going to be good next year no matter what but I'm sure the hysterics here will blame that on the coach.

If he sucks after two years let the bitching began, until then this is all noise.

I can't stand Rooney either but some of this shit is over the top.

He’s lazy and content

Should Rodgers continue his career somewhere other than Pittsburgh this will speak volumes about the MCarthy hire since it was Rodgers who volunteered to play in Arthur Smith’s offense.

I actually think (hope) Rodgers retires

Anyway

Yes McCarthy is literally fat and happy

But he just left Jerry Jones the fattest and happiest of all.

Jerry hasn’t given a rip about winning Super Bowls in over a decade

Why would McCarthy?

Fredo Rooney cares even less than Jerry he’s just smart enough to keep his mouth shut most of the season.

Without a young HUNGRY Cowher like coach who’s desire to win can overcome an I don’t give a fuck owner we’re about to see next level laziness that’s going to make even Tomlin blush.

“Hey Coach McCarthy. Can we watch some film after practice?”

“Go away kid, Swiss just sent me over a Vinny’s pie”

Anyway

Think about how bad most owners are in the NFL.

Stefanski now with my transplant hometown Falcons miraculously won NFL Coach of the year TWICE.with Jimmy fucking Haslem constantly meddling.

What Sean MvDermott endured with Pegula and Beane up in Buffalo? Criminal that guy wasn’t at least interviewed.

Zach Taylor made it to a Super Bowl with Mike Brown arguably the worst owner in the NFL.

What kinda pictures does Joe Schein have on old man Mara? Johnny Harbs voluntarily signed up for THAT shit show of an organization (Gives me soooo much joy he missed out on coaching Josh Allen. Fuck that whiny bitch).

How about Lions and bears fans staring up into their owners box to see frail, shriveled up, old ladies propped up in a chair owning their teams?

Decades those fans waited for Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson to give them hope.

Soooo many fan bases like our once beloved Steelers saddled with brutal ownership who know not what they’re doing or worse simply don’t give a fuck

Jets
Dolphins
Buffalo
Bengals
Browns
STEELERS
Titans
Colts
Jags
Raiders
Chargers (I lived at Pacific Beach)
Cowboys
Redskins
Giants
Bears
Lions
Falcons
Saints
Panthers
Cardinals

Would’ve been easier to name the handful of truly good owners

Long iced in my house rant short

Rooney sucks goat balls

Sell the team indeed

[swissvale72]

A washed up once fired coach vs a washed up twice fired coach. So inspiring!

Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin...both fired, then won super bowls. Funny the circumstance you asshats use to predict the future.

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

Dulac put out that the contract is 5yrs

Holy sheit. This owner.

[Obviously]

Look, I get it. The big question wasn’t whether the Steelers would announce an in-person interview with Shula or Scheelhaase. The question was were they planning to interview BOTH Shula and Scheelhaase.

I had Shula and Scheelhaase co-favorites, with Weaver and McCarthy dark horses.

So I was shocked when I heard the news. And, truthfully, initially a little disappointed, particularly considering neither Shula or Scheelhaase got a second interview. Neither Shula or Scheelhaase could do anything in a second interview that could have changed the Steelers minds? Or was it that the Steelers couldn’t do anything in a second interview to change either Shula’s and Scheelhaase’s minds?

As you know, the fan reaction has ranged from anger, to disappointment, to resignation.

But after giving myself 12 hours to soak this in, and while I wouldn’t necessarily have called the choice “inspired”, I myself am willing to give McCarthy a chance before final judgment.

He’s always gotten the most out of the QBs he’s had, with not only future HOFs such as Rodgers and Prescott, but others such as Rich Gannon.

While he’s apparently not connected to McVay, he’s a hell of a lot more modern than OSU’s new OC.

Speaking of an OC, no preseason analysis of this hire can be made until we see the quality (or lack thereof) of the staff. I would expect that McCarthy, with all of his connections in about thirty years of NFL experience, will field a strong staff.

Look, with the compensatory picks we are scheduled to have, we will have 12 draft picks in this draft. Talent can be fortified at literally every position. Get the staff right and then have a good and deep draft, the kind where we might be able to win immediately with a plug and play QB. Find a couple of future pro bowlers and another two or three solid starters.

I DO have more confidence than I did with Tomlin in McCarthy’s ability to identify and develop the third great Steeler QB of my lifetime, whether that takes just this cycle or the next.

So I’m wait and see.

Thank you for this well-reasoned, grounded post.

[Steeldrama]

A washed up once fired coach vs a washed up twice fired coach. So inspiring!

Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin...both fired, then won super bowls. Funny the circumstance you asshats use to predict the future.

Belichick
Coughlin
Fat Andy

Won and won BIG at their NEXT coaching stop

McCarthy’s NEXT coaching stop was with the Cowboys

Did
He
Win
Big?

Nope

He
Won
Nothing

This is McCarthy’s 3rd coaching stop

Asking Omar K-h-a-n (he’s not a hot dog) to find the next Brady, Manning, or Mahomes to help Fat Mike win multiple Super Bowls let alone ONE sounds like some BIG wishful thinking to me

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

Fire Khan
FIre McCarthy
Rooney Sell the team

[swissvale72]

A washed up once fired coach vs a washed up twice fired coach. So inspiring!

Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin...both fired, then won super bowls. Funny the circumstance you asshats use to predict the future.

Belichick
Coughlin
Fat Andy

Won and won BIG at their NEXT coaching stop

McCarthy’s NEXT coaching stop was with the Cowboys

Did
He
Win
Big?

Nope

He
Won
Nothing

This is McCarthy’s 3rd coaching stop

Asking Omar K-h-a-n (he’s not a hot dog) to find the next Brady, Manning, or Mahomes to help Fat Mike win multiple Super Bowls let alone ONE sounds like some BIG wishful thinking to me

Okay, cuz he was fired in Dallas, by Jerry Jones, after three 12-5 seasons, McCarthy is destined to be a loser in Pittsburgh??

[Steeldrama]

Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin...both fired, then won super bowls. Funny the circumstance you asshats use to predict the future.

Belichick
Coughlin
Fat Andy

Won and won BIG at their NEXT coaching stop

McCarthy’s NEXT coaching stop was with the Cowboys

Did
He
Win
Big?

Nope

He
Won
Nothing

This is McCarthy’s 3rd coaching stop

Asking Omar K-h-a-n (he’s not a hot dog) to find the next Brady, Manning, or Mahomes to help Fat Mike win multiple Super Bowls let alone ONE sounds like some BIG wishful thinking to me

McCarthy is destined to be a loser in Pittsburgh??

Were you asleep the past decade?

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

Swiss, i get it you're getting up there, but do you watch the games, other teams, coaches, etc?

Can you make your opinion that void of factual evidence, so cavalier that you've convinced yourself of your belief system

It goes back to your pretending mindset

[swissvale72]

Belichick
Coughlin
Fat Andy

Won and won BIG at their NEXT coaching stop

McCarthy’s NEXT coaching stop was with the Cowboys

Did
He
Win
Big?

Nope

He
Won
Nothing

This is McCarthy’s 3rd coaching stop

Asking Omar K-h-a-n (he’s not a hot dog) to find the next Brady, Manning, or Mahomes to help Fat Mike win multiple Super Bowls let alone ONE sounds like some BIG wishful thinking to me

McCarthy is destined to be a loser in Pittsburgh??

Were you asleep the past decade?

Were you asleep during the three consecutive 12-5 seasons....woke up this morning with a crystal ball ??

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

this is my point Swiss, you fail to uptake all the info

12-5 and mike tomlinesque playoffs???

Wow

LOOK AT THE LAST YEAR

[DumlinBumlinStumlin]

and i highlighted other years

[swissvale72]

Swiss, i get it you're getting up there, but do you watch the games, other teams, coaches, etc?

Can you make your opinion that void of factual evidence, so cavalier that you've convinced yourself of your belief system

It goes back to your pretending mindset

Seems like it's false prognosticators like you, convinced, "void of factual evidence," that the McCarthy hire is bound to fail.

Funny how you asshats cite my age....retirement just gives me more time to watch, and to pay attention to things. Weak fuckin argument asshats like you use to discredit.

[ol skool]

McCarthy is destined to be a loser in Pittsburgh??

Were you asleep the past decade?

Were you asleep during the three consecutive 12-5 seasons....woke up this morning with a crystal ball ??

See how you cling to hope that what we’ve been doing will work?

You just can’t help yourself.

[Jtf]

Swiss, i get it you're getting up there, but do you watch the games, other teams, coaches, etc?

Can you make your opinion that void of factual evidence, so cavalier that you've convinced yourself of your belief system

It goes back to your pretending mindset

Seems like it's false prognosticators like you, convinced, "void of factual evidence," that the McCarthy hire is bound to fail.

Funny how you asshats cite my age....retirement just gives me more time to watch, and to pay attention to things. Weak fuckin argument asshats like you use to discredit.

McCarthy will do welll and make playoffs.

Only thing is you guys should be worried about is not getting as many calls and breaks that you use to get with Tonkin. NFL Definitely favored him and wanted him to succeed.

But they will be playoff team Is that good ? Most of this board said says they want to lose. I don’t think they could handle two losing seasons.

Most said when Ben is done. I am done.
But they are stlll here.

[CKSteeler]

Swiss, i get it you're getting up there, but do you watch the games, other teams, coaches, etc?

Can you make your opinion that void of factual evidence, so cavalier that you've convinced yourself of your belief system

It goes back to your pretending mindset

Seems like it's false prognosticators like you, convinced, "void of factual evidence," that the McCarthy hire is bound to fail.

Funny how you asshats cite my age....retirement just gives me more time to watch, and to pay attention to things. Weak fuckin argument asshats like you use to discredit.

I think the difference here Swiss is circumstances are pretty easy to look at. Is McCarthy really likely to end up with a better QB or even roster than he had in Green Bay when he failed to deliver time and time again, often in humiliating fashion?

Even Dak Prescott isn't a slouch and they had rather talented Cowboys teams that again...just came up short even if the expectation of Super Bowl was too much.

Belichick connected with Brady. Andy Reid Mahomes.

Coughlin I guess is what you could look at and be like hey, anything is possible. Those two Giants teams were mostly mediocre before catching lightening in a bottle twice, but Eli was also capable of playing pretty clutch at times. And they still won on the back-bone of some epic defensive performances particularly in 2007.

I'll reiterate - McCarthy strangely probably gives a slightly better shot at this than Tomlin given the state of the league, but it's hard to convince anyone that it's by much.

[StillerDownSouth]

Article from SI that I found interesting:

https://www.si.com/nfl/mike-mccarthy-ma ... r-steelers

Candidate A is 62 years old and in his second act as an NFL head coach. Before arriving at his current location, he was with his previous team from 2006 to ’21, amassing 152 wins over 15 seasons, eight playoff appearances and one Super Bowl, which he won alongside a shoo-in Hall of Fame quarterback.

Candidate B begins his third stint as an NFL head coach today. He is 62 years old, and in his 16 seasons coaching between 2006 to ’21 (the same time frame as candidate A, who lost a year due to a league suspension), he logged 155 wins, 11 playoff appearances and one Super Bowl, which he won alongside a shoo-in Hall of Fame quarterback.

The reception to candidate A’s hiring was one of unanimous praise. An immediate assurance that he would turn his current team around—a notion that has been proved correct. Quickly, the team turned over the quarterback position, loaded up a defense, made quality coordinator hires and dug the team out of the divisional basement.

The reception to candidate B’s hiring on Saturday has been nearly unanimous confusion, even though both candidates have roughly identical winning percentages, total wins, playoff success and a track record of turning teams around.

The Steelers, who hired Candidate B on Saturday (Mike McCarthy), are breaking a long-term precedent in their own hiring practices in the hopes that his success mirrors that of Candidate A, Sean Payton. They are also, in my estimation, doing something wise in realizing that the only significant difference between Payton and McCarthy is that one coach is a little more skilled at making us believe he is great at his job. The Steelers always favored an understated approach anyway.

While the story of the moment is that Pittsburgh eschewed its decades-old formula of hiring a defensive head coach in his early thirties—this process led the team to Super Bowl winners Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin—I’m more focused on the fact that one smart team has opted not to take the narrative bait on McCarthy and to explore the facts at our disposal: that he is the 15th-winningest coach in NFL history. That he has a .608 winning percentage, better than that of Bill Parcells, Mike Shanahan, Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Mike Ditka and Jon Gruden. That, between 2016 and ’18 (when EPA tracking data became mainstream enough to sort and track), McCarthy, like Payton, also had a top-seven offense in terms of expected points added per play. That, in 2023 and ’24 (the years when McCarthy was in Dallas and Payton was in Denver), the Cowboys were better across nearly all measurable offensive statistics.

For some reason, when McCarthy is lobbed as a head coaching candidate, it causes a fan base to recoil. Again, my guess is that McCarthy simply lacks the public finesse that Payton undoubtedly has. While Payton’s milieu is a bit more villainous, it’s aligned with the personality traits that one would expect of an offensive genius. McCarthy, be it his Yinzer accent, background as a bartender and college tight end, or his gentle-hearted nature at the podium, comes off more as someone who is along for the ride. Even though coaches who have worked for him, padded his plays and operated his offense, insist that is absolutely not the case.

Although it’s no guarantee of success, the Steelers were battling some rocky terrain. For one, the dynamics of the league have shifted drastically since the Steelers last hired a head coach. While this would have seemed to be the ideal class to score another young, ascending defensive coach, the reality is that Pittsburgh's offensive output has been threadbare since Ben Roethlisberger was in the prime of his career.

Second, much like the Patriots opted for a charismatic Cam Newton to be the bridge between Tom Brady and the next young, drafted Patriots quarterback, the Steelers are smart in considering that McCarthy can more easily handle both the weight of an absurd streak of seasons at .500 or above and the brutality of the AFC North.

McCarthy can draw good coordinators, most recently sending off both Kellen Moore to win a Super Bowl in Philadelphia (he joined the Chargers first) and eventually land a head coaching job in New Orleans, and Dan Quinn to a gig in Washington, where he took the Commanders to the conference championship in 2024. He can parse the mercurial world of high-end quarterbacks—and maybe convince a near-retirement Aaron Rodgers to explore the possibility of a bridge season in Pittsburgh. And, he will raise the floor of an offense that has been left to wither by decades of defense-first philosophy. In 24 years as a play-caller or head coach, McCarthy has had 14 seasons in which he finished with a top-15 passing offense in net yards per attempt. The Steelers did that only 10 times in Tomlin’s tenure—all of which occurred with Roethlisberger under center.

The rest of it—that McCarthy is native to Pittsburgh and may be able to better pacify a wildly provincial fan base staring down a pretty gruelling rebuild—is simply whipped topping.

But in looking at Denver’s roster when Payton arrived and Pittsburgh’s now that McCarthy is there, I’d ask you why—really, why—did one rebuild seem so much more certain? And now that we’ve taken a look at the facts, doesn’t this seem a little more exciting than we’re giving it credit for?



My 2 cents, while I would have preferred a young up and coming offensive genius, there's really no guarantee that would have worked, as is there is no guarantee the Steelers will be a dumpster fire under McCarthy's leadership. I live in the heart of Cowboys country, received numerous texts from family and friends yesterday consoling me and giving me plenty of shit for the Steelers hiring McCarthy, Cowboy fans loathed this man, even though he had three 12 win seasons in 5 years, his teams played poorly in the postseason, which as a Steeler fan seems like more of the same. I'm not turning in my fan card, I'm not switching to another team, and I'm not going to quit watching a team I cheered for for 50 plus years, I've said on this site numerous times that it really don't make a shit who the coach is until they find the next franchise QB, and McCarthy for all of his failures, has been pretty damn good developing QB's, so maybe for that reason alone he might be the right man for the job, if not, he's 62 years old and won't be here forever.

[ol skool]

Swiss, i get it you're getting up there, but do you watch the games, other teams, coaches, etc?

Can you make your opinion that void of factual evidence, so cavalier that you've convinced yourself of your belief system

It goes back to your pretending mindset

Seems like it's false prognosticators like you, convinced, "void of factual evidence," that the McCarthy hire is bound to fail.

Funny how you asshats cite my age....retirement just gives me more time to watch, and to pay attention to things. Weak fuckin argument asshats like you use to discredit.

McCarthy will do welll and make playoffs.

Only thing is you guys should be worried about is not getting as many calls and breaks that you use to get with Tonkin. NFL Definitely favored him and wanted him to succeed.

But they will be playoff team Is that good ? Most of this board said says they want to lose. I don’t think they could handle two losing seasons.

Most said when Ben is done. I am done.
But they are stlll here.

You don’t know what you’re talking about.

I’ll always be a Steelers fan. I can’t root for another team.

But…I just don’t care like I used to.

[Hacksaw]

This Swiss guy sure is retarded.

[6Trophies]

My 2 cents, while I would have preferred a young up and coming offensive genius, there's really no guarantee that would have worked, as is there is no guarantee the Steelers will be a dumpster fire under McCarthy's leadership. I live in the heart of Cowboys country, received numerous texts from family and friends yesterday consoling me and giving me plenty of shit for the Steelers hiring McCarthy, Cowboy fans loathed this man, even though he had three 12 win seasons in 5 years, his teams played poorly in the postseason, which as a Steeler fan seems like more of the same. I'm not turning in my fan card, I'm not switching to another team, and I'm not going to quit watching a team I cheered for for 50 plus years, I've said on this site numerous times that it really don't make a shit who the coach is until they find the next franchise QB, and McCarthy for all of his failures, has been pretty damn good developing QB's, so maybe for that reason alone he might be the right man for the job, if not, he's 62 years old and won't be here forever.

[CKSteeler]

For the record, I didn't really think that highly of Sean Payton, either. And I'm not sold they'll retain this level of play going forward. It's been a dream season for them right up until Nix got hurt, but he is quite like McCarthy from a track record standpoint.

But his rosters generally weren't as good as McCarthy's in Green Bay or even those 12 win Dallas seasons right down to Drew Brees simply not being as good as Rodgers and maybe the most overrated QB of that generation given the totality of the circumstances. His teams still tended to fail to live up to expectations in the postseason.

So perception isn't fair in that case, but not EVERYONE thinks that highly of Payton.