What’s that you say, it’s far too early for power rankings? It seems nobody heard you, because the Steelers are ranked 14th in yet another. First it was ESPN, who put Pittsburgh outside of the playoff picture. The Athletic has them just inside the proverbial bubble, but also adds a flare of stupidity with its analysis. According to the outlet, the head coach they just hired, like, weeks ago is already in trouble.
Because blurbs are necessary for everything, “The takeaway” for The Steelers’ 14th-place ranking is drivel. “Mike McCarthy is already on the hot seat”, either Josh Kendall or Chad Graff, the co-authors of the piece, argues. “Pittsburgh wins the offseason award for Most Uninspired Head Coaching Hire. After hiring three straight young coaches who each kept the job for at least 15 years, the Steelers brought in a 62-year-old Pittsburgh native who has one playoff win since 2016”.
It’s more than fair to argue that the Steelers’ hire of McCarthy is uninspired, but that’s an outside evaluation. There is literally nothing to indicate that they hired a head coach they knew they would be looking to replace.
Sports media is full of inane narratives, and Steelers coverage is no different. The notion that the Steelers have a “pattern” for their head coaches, which goes back more than half a century and consisted of just three candidates, is comical. Yes, Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin all had certain characteristics in common.
But they initially planned to hire Ken Whisenhunt. And they offered the job to Joe Paterno before Noll. And unlike when they hired Cowher and Tomlin, there were no Mike McCarthy’s around that cycle. Super Bowl-winning coaches aren’t on the open market very often, it’s apparently easy to forget.
As far as the Steelers ranked 14th, with or without the Mike McCarthy hire, it’s more than fair right now. That’s about where they ought to have ranked at the end of last season, and that was with the presumption that Mike Tomlin would be back.
One could argue that the Steelers moving from Tomlin to McCarthy is a push, or roughly so. Most are assuming at this point, I think, that Aaron Rodgers will be back. By and large, this will be a very similar roster to last season when all is said and done. The X factor is how much the coaching will change things.
The Steelers benefited from a weak division last season—and from a rookie kicker. In 2026, Mike McCarthy will have to play a division-winner’s schedule, and Joe Burrow can’t keep injury himself—can he?
Until further notice, the 9-8 to 11-6 range feels like a safe bet for the Steelers in any given year regardless of who the head coach is. Unless or until they land an actual franchise quarterback, it’s hard to move from that point. Aaron Rodgers once was himself, certainly, but that’s not the Aaron Rodgers the Steelers now have. If, that is, they even have him.
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