Steelers’ Mike McCarthy hire knocked as ‘uninspired’ by NFL insider

The Pittsburgh Steelers broke tradition by hiring Mike McCarthy as their next head coach. Pittsburgh had been hiring young coaches, when they brought in Mike Tomlin and Bill Cowher years ago. McCarthy is a veteran head coach, with lots of experience who also has ties to the city of Pittsburgh.

While Steelers fans offered some mixed reviews to the hire, one NFL insider is making it clear they are not impressed.

“I thought the team would chart a new course with an assertive young coach they could build something with,” an industry source said Saturday to ESPN. “McCarthy’s a good coach, but this isn’t an inspired hire.”

McCarthy had success coaching the Green Bay Packers, leading that team to a Super Bowl with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Ironically, that Super Bowl win was over Tomlin and the Steelers many years ago. In recent years, McCarthy also coached the Dallas Cowboys where he found turbulence and inconsistency.

The Steelers lost in the AFC Playoffs this season to the Houston Texans.

The Steelers hope to keep winning with Mike McCarthy as head coach

McCarthy now has the task of trying to keep the team’s streak of winning seasons going. Tomlin had never had a losing season since he got the job ahead of the 2007 season.

While Tomlin wasn’t posting losing seasons, he also wasn’t winning in the playoffs. Pittsburgh has not had a postseason win since the 2016 season. That caused Steelers fans to turn their ire on Tomlin, which eventually led to him stepping down following the 2025 campaign.

Rodgers was the Steelers quarterback in 2025. He led the team to a 10-win season, as well as a AFC North title. Steelers management is open to Rodgers returning in 2026, and the hire of McCarthy adds some intrigue to that proposition.

“While Rodgers is still a wild card, there’s belief in the Steelers’ building that hiring McCarthy as the coach could help to bring the quarterback into the fold for at least one more year,” ESPN’s Brooke Pryor wrote.

Time will tell what happens moving forward for the Steelers.

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