Steelers Owner Explains Team's Decision to Hire Mike McCarthy As Head Coach

The Steelers' decision to hire McCarthy was first reported on Saturday. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Steelers hired longtime NFL vet Mike McCarthy on Saturday to serve as just their fourth head coach since 1969. The former Packers and Cowboys leader now replaces Mike Tomlin, who stepped down from his post earlier this month after 19 seasons at the helm.

On Sunday, Steelers.com's Bob Labriola shared a bit more insight into why team president Art Rooney II picked McCarthy for the job.

Although Rooney acknowledged that McCarthy having ties to Pittsburgh was a factor in the decision, the hire ultimately came down to the coach's résumé, track record and experience.

"He is someone who has a longer track record than many of the other candidates, a winning track record," Rooney said, per Labriola. "He's been a winner everywhere he's been. Probably just as important for our purposes, the quarterbacks that he's worked with have all been very successful. So he has a proven track record of developing top flight quarterbacks. Those are the things that maybe stick out the most."

Rooney added that the team's No. 1 priority right now is winning a championship, but getting a coach that can develop a quarterback is probably No. 2 on that list.

"Since sooner or later, we're going to be working with a young quarterback here," Rooney went on, "I think Mike's ability to develop the next quarterback is something that certainly is important to us."

The Steelers haven't had a franchise QB since Ben Roethlisberger retired in 2022. The team worked with vet Aaron Rodgers for 2025, but the belief is that he will retire either now or after one more season, whether that's with Pittsburgh or not (McCarthy and Rodgers also worked together in Green Bay). If the QB does opt to leave, Pittsburgh will either draft someone soon or perhaps turn to 2025 pick Will Howard.

To that end, McCarthy believes Howard has "tremendous upside and is looking forward to working with him," Rooney added. "We'll have to sit down and discuss where Aaron is, if he decides to come back, and whether that all makes sense. I think Mike was very comfortable with the quarterback room and the possibilities with the quarterback room. In particular, the fact we have a young quarterback on the roster in whom he sees some upside."

And as for the public's reaction to the hire, which hasn't been too great, Rooney didn't sound concerned about that, either.

"We're really not worried about winning the initial press conference. It's about picking the coach we believe will help us win games," said Rooney. "Social media really doesn't enter into it. None of that will matter once we're starting to play games."

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