Printable Page
01/24 13:37 CST Steelers are close on a deal to make Mike McCarthy the coach of
his hometown team, AP source says
Steelers are close on a deal to make Mike McCarthy the coach of his hometown
team, AP source says
By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- Mike McCarthy is coming home.
The Pittsburgh Steelers intend to hire McCarthy, who is from Pittsburgh, to
replace Mike Tomlin as head coach, a person familiar with the deal told the The
Associated Press on Saturday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because a deal had not
been finalized.
The potential agreement was first reported by ESPN.
McCarthy grew up in the Greenfield neighborhood, just a couple of miles away
from the team's practice facility on the city's South Side.
The 62-year-old McCarthy is 185--123--2 (playoffs included) across 18 seasons,
13 with Green Bay --- which beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl following the
2010 season --- and five with Dallas.
His potential hire is just the fourth by the Steelers since 1969 and a marked
departure from his predecessors, Tomlin and Hall of Famers Chuck Noll and Bill
Cowher.
All three were largely unknown assistants/coordinators. McCarthy is hardly that.
McCarthy would replace Tomlin, who stepped down earlier this month after his
19th season ended with a seventh straight playoff loss, this one at home to the
Houston Texans. Tomlin's surprise departure came as he was under contract for
2026 with a club option for 2027.
The Steelers took a methodical approach, interviewing nearly a dozen candidates
that spanned a wide spectrum of experience, from Minnesota Vikings defensive
coordinator Brian Flores (who spent 2022 as a defensive assistant on Tomlin's
staff) to Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who was hired by the
Baltimore Ravens on Thursday to replace John Harbaugh.
They ultimately landed on McCarthy, who takes over a team that has been stuck
in a purgatory of sorts for going on a decade.
Of all the numbers around Tomlin's nearly two-decade tenure, one that included
193 regular-season victories --- tied with Noll for the most in franchise
history --- and the team's sixth Super Bowl, perhaps the most remarkable is
zero: the number of losing seasons the Steelers had with Tomlin on the sideline.
That startling consistency, however, did not always translate to postseason
success. Pittsburgh has been one-and-done in each of its last six playoff
appearances, all of them double-digit losses.
In some ways, the Steelers have been victims of their own success. They have
frequently been drafting in the high teens and low-20s, not exactly a prime
position to find a franchise quarterback. It didn't help that they chose not to
draft Ben Roethlisberger's replacement in his final seasons, then whiffed badly
on Kenny Pickett, who flamed out in less than two years after being taken in
the first round of the 2022 draft.
It's led to a revolving door at the most important position on the field. If
Aaron Rodgers, who will be a free agent in March, doesn't return for a 22nd
season, the Steelers will have their sixth different Week 1 quarterback in six
years. McCarthy's arrival, however, would seemingly open the door for the
42-year-old Rodgers to come back.
Rodgers said earlier this month he believes he would have at least a couple of
options if he chose to run it back one more time, and his long partnership with
McCarthy in Green Bay included a Super Bowl victory over Tomlin and the
Steelers. Pittsburgh will have the 21st pick when a draft that appears to be
thin in quality options at quarterback descends on the Steel City in late April.
There's a very real chance the Steelers, who currently only have veteran backup
Mason Rudolph and 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard under contract for next
season, will kick the can down the road again and address a handful of other
positions of need in the draft, namely wide receiver and cornerback.
Regardless, president Art Rooney II brushed off the idea of the Steelers
rebuilding.
"I don't like that word that much," Rooney said. "We'll try to compete day one
if we can."
McCarthy's potential arrival would indicate that's still the plan.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
|
