Behind the Steel Curtain
We’ve made it to July, the last month before football finally returns to the field and our televisions. The Steelers are set to report to Latrobe in just over three weeks, on July 28, with the first open practice the following day. In just 42 days, they’ll suit up for their first preseason action on August 13, when Pittsburgh will play host to the Green Bay Packers.
In many ways, it’s an appropriate start to this new era of Steelers football. Both the Black and Gold’s quarterback and new head coach are likely to be remembered most for their time in Green Bay, and, at least for the 2026 season, both will be trying to recapture some of the magic they once shared there. Sure, Rodgers isn’t likely to play much, if at all, and McCarthy won’t be showing too many of the offense’s cards in a preseason tilt, but it will be our first look at a team that has, at least on paper, undergone its biggest change in nearly two decades.
The defense still might determine the team’s competitive floor — even with its own set of expected updates under this new staff — but how far this team can go will hang on McCarthy’s ability to get more out of what has been a middling offense at best over the past five seasons.
There was a mixed reaction to the initial announcement of McCarthy’s hire. On the one hand, McCarthy provides a lot of experience with 18 NFL seasons as a head coach on his resume, and his offenses have typically ranked well. While he can’t boast that he’s never had a losing season like his predecessor, McCarthy has 12 seasons with a winning record, a playoff appearance in each of those seasons, and did win a Super Bowl, as Steelers fans will remember all too well.
On the other hand, McCarthy will be the third-oldest active coach in the NFL this season. Should he complete his full contract, he’ll be as old then as Andy Reid is now. And while his offenses continue to perform well statistically, it’s been a long time since any of his teams made noise in the playoffs. The last time a McCarthy team made it out of the Wild Card round was 2022, when his Cowboys lost in the divisional round. McCarthy missed the playoffs during his final two years with the Packers, as well as his first and final seasons with the Cowboys. The last time a McCarthy team appeared in a conference championship game was during the 2016 season, when they lost 44-21 to a Falcons team that would infamously blow a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl.
How you feel about McCarthy’s hire is its own Rorschach test. I find myself going back and forth between optimism and pessimism about the move. I have doubts about the Steelers ever winning it all with McCarthy, but if he can turn this offense around — especially if they can find...
