The Pittsburgh Steelers have acquired criticism from pockets of followers and analysts for hiring Mike McCarthy as their subsequent head coach shortly after Mike Tomlin stepped away from the membership following 19 seasons within the position.
Steelers group president Artwork Rooney II spoke with Bob Labriola of the group’s web site about selecting McCarthy as Tomlin’s substitute.
Steelers view Mike McCarthy as a coach who has “been a winner in all places he is been”
“He’s somebody who has an extended monitor file than most of the different candidates, a profitable monitor file,” Rooney mentioned about McCarthy. “He is been a winner in all places he is been. Most likely simply as vital for our functions, the quarterbacks that he is labored with have all been very profitable. So he has a confirmed monitor file of creating top-flight quarterbacks. These are the issues that perhaps stick out essentially the most.”
McCarthy guided the Inexperienced Bay Packers to a Tremendous Bowl championship whereas serving as that franchise’s head coach from 2006 by means of a lot of the 2018 season. He later took the Dallas Cowboys to the playoffs 3 times from 2020 by means of the 2024 marketing campaign. Nonetheless, he went 1-3 in postseason play with Dallas. That file understandably has some Pittsburgh followers fearing that the membership will endure extra of the identical concerning postseason tournaments after the Steelers misplaced the ultimate seven playoff video games of Tomlin’s tenure.
Did Steelers rent Mike McCarthy with Aaron Rodgers in thoughts?
On Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports activities Illustrated mentioned that McCarthy “deserves credit score for maximizing the top of Brett Favre’s profession” and for “rebuilding Aaron Rodgers’ mechanics and serving to to develop him right into a four-time MVP” as Inexperienced Bay’s head coach. Rodgers ended this season as Pittsburgh’s beginning quarterback, and lots of have assumed that one purpose the Steelers employed McCarthy is that the coach could convince the 42-year-old signal-caller to run it again with the AFC North membership for another marketing campaign.
Based on Rooney, Rodgers “was not a figuring out issue” in Pittsburgh’s selecting of McCarthy.
“We determined to carry Mike on as a result of we imagine that he is the precise coach for us at this level to assist lead us to a championship,” Rooney defined. “We do not know what Aaron’s plans are proper now, and that didn’t weigh closely within the choice. We’ll see the place Aaron is, and we have left the door open, however clearly, all of us have to sit down down and see if that is smart. In order that’ll occur someday within the subsequent month or so. However the choice was made based mostly on Mike being the coach we wish, and it actually had little or no to do with whether or not Aaron goes to be again or not.”
Per not less than one report, Rodgers suggested in December that he’ll retire this offseason. It stays to be seen if he has any want to play underneath McCarthy as soon as extra.
As for instant reactions to the hiring of McCarthy, Rooney insisted he’s “actually not anxious about profitable the preliminary press convention.” Pittsburgh followers doubtless will develop to like McCarthy if he helps finish the membership’s playoff dropping streak as quickly as subsequent January.
