The Pittsburgh Steelers have a new head coach in Mike McCarthy. That brings along some new connections, both for players and coaches who have worked with McCarthy before. We’ve seen him bring in plenty of old friends on the coaching staff, and now it’s now starting to happen on the roster, too. Rico Dowdle, who signed with the Steelers Friday after Kenneth Gainwell left for Tampa Bay, is a good example.
Dowdle got his first chance in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys when McCarthy was there. Speaking to reporters Friday, Dowdle mentioned McCarthy being a big part of the reason he came to Pittsburgh. He also mentioned his familiarity with new Steelers new running backs coach Ramon Chinyoung.
“It goes all the way back to when I came out of South Carolina. Coach McCarthy and the Cowboys, they was able to give me my first opportunity in the NFL. I’ve built that relationship with him, I was there with him in Dallas for what, five years? So yeah, just building that relationship with him, and it definitely played a major role in my decision to come here to Pittsburgh,” Dowdle said during his introductory press conference via Steelers.com. “I know my running backs coach. I was with him in Dallas.”
Dowdle only saw the field in four of his five years in Dallas. And it took until the fifth year for him to hold down a major role in the offense, but it’s something he took advantage of. Getting 235 attempts under McCarthy in 2024, Dowdle hit the 1,000-rushing yard mark for the first time, doing it on a respectable 4.6 yards per carry.
He hit the open market after that year and ended up signing with Carolina for the 2025 season. There, he proved that performance wasn’t a fluke, rushing for 1,076 yards and scoring seven times.
But now Rico Dowdle is with the Steelers, and he’s excited to work with McCarthy again.
“Interactive with his players, walking around talking to ’em. If you need to talk to him about anything that’s going on, you can go and talk to him about it. Playing time, family, anything… Small things like that go a long way,” Dowdle said. “He’s a player’s coach; he’s a great leader… You got your guy here, hometown guy. I know he’s definitely looking forward to it. It would mean more to him to hold that trophy up here in Pittsburgh. So, that’s the goal.”
When Mike Tomlin led the Steelers, we heard about him being a great player’s coach, and players from around the league wanted to come to Pittsburgh to play for him. That seems to be the case with McCarthy as well.
McCarthy has filled out his coaching staff with plenty of names familiar to him. He’s now added a player like that in Dowdle, and there is a lot to like about his game. He’s a tough, physical runner who’s going to play like he’s been lit on fire, and he’s willing to do the dirty work that comes with the position.
The McCarthy hire was not met with widespread praise. But Dowdle’s words show the impact he’s able to make on a locker room, and despite just landing in Pittsburgh, Rico Dowdle clearly knows how much this city, and the Steelers, mean to McCarthy. We’ll see if the two are able to replicate their 2024 success together in 2026.
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