The AFC North has seen a lot of change this offseason. Three of its four teams have hired new head coaches, including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. They took different approaches with their new head coaches, too. The Ravens hired Jesse Minter, a young and promising defensive mind who’s never been a head coach before. Meanwhile, the Steelers hired Mike McCarthy, who’s held that title with two other franchises before. Former NFL safety T.J. Ward thinks that will be the key difference between the two teams in 2026.
“You’ve got a young coach, you’ve got an offensive coordinator [Declan Doyle] that played baseball five years ago,” Ward said recently on the Draft Club podcast. “Where the opposite, you’ve got the Pittsburgh Steelers, who brought in a championship coach in Mike McCarthy. That’s the difference. You have a leader of men in Mike McCarthy.
“He’s done it, he’s led Aaron Rodgers, one of the greatest quarterbacks we’ve known to play this game to a Super Bowl MVP and a Super Bowl championship. He hasn’t won a Super Bowl MVP or a Super Bowl championship since leaving Mike McCarthy. I think if he comes back to Pittsburgh, that’s gonna be a recipe for disaster for the rest of the AFC North, and especially the Ravens.”
Many fans expressed frustration when the Steelers hired McCarthy. While he’s got a decorated resumé, he’s also a known commodity. Some fans wanted Pittsburgh to do what Baltimore did and reset with an up-and-coming coach.
However, as Ward says, there are reasons to be optimistic about McCarthy. For instance, he won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers, and he even beat the Steelers to do it. Yes, he had prime Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback, but coaching matters, too.
McCarthy also found success after leaving Rodgers and the Packers. He was the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach for five seasons, and he led them to three 12-5 seasons that resulted in playoff trips.
One of the biggest knocks against McCarthy is his lack of postseason success. He’s 11-11 in playoff games, winning only one since 2017. The Steelers have been dealing with a similar problem, with their last postseason win coming in the 2016 season. There’s some concern that two wrongs won’t make a right with McCarthy and Pittsburgh.
Still, his experience should be valuable for this veteran Steelers team. Minter was great as the Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive coordinator, but being a good coordinator doesn’t always translate to being a good head coach. Hiring a first-time head coach is risky.
Also, the Ravens have had a rough offseason so far. They still have one of the best NFL’s players in Lamar Jackson, but they have suffered significant losses in free agency. Add the disaster that was the aborted Maxx Crosby trade and the Ravens might take a few steps back to start Minter’s tenure. The Steelers aren’t perfect either, but they won the division last year, and perhaps they’ll repeat that in 2026.
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