After 19 years under Mike Tomlin’s guidance, a new era is underway for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kind of.
Following Tomlin’s surprising resignation after the Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans, the Steelers pivoted quickly in a different direction than they had in previous head coaching searches. They chose 62-year-old Mike McCarthy as the next head coach.
The Steelers are leaning on McCarthy’s offensive background and his perceived ability to develop quarterbacks. He’s on the older side, but he remains a good head coach.
Under McCarthy, things are changing a bit. GM Omar Khan has been busy shaping the roster in free agency to fit McCarthy’s vision. A question remains at quarterback as the franchise awaits a decision from 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers.
Still, the Steelers have improved so far this offseason by many accounts. That sets them up for a potentially successful 2026 season. For Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport, the expectations largely remain the same for the Steelers, even with all of that change.
For Davenport, he sees another 10-7 season coming.
“McCarthy inherits a team that won 10 games to become the AFC North champions in 2025. They haven’t had a losing season in over two decades. The Steelers are the model of stability,”Davenport writes of expectations for McCarthy in Year 1. “The roster was bolstered with some quality additions by trading for wide receiver Michael Pittman and signing running back Rico Dowdle, safety Jaquan Brisker, and cornerback Jamel Dean.But the Steelers have been a good, but not great, team for a long time, and Pittsburgh has the same problem this year that has existed since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
“Aaron Rodgers or not, the Steelers don’t have a quarterback that makes them a legitimate Super Bowl contender—and there’s no clear path to that guy in the short-term. The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
That final line from Davenport is quite the indictment of the franchise. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
That could happen with Pittsburgh set to run it back with Rodgers under center. McCarthy’s presence could help the offense take a step forward, but as long as they don’t have a franchise quarterback and lean on an older Rodgers, things might not change much.
The other offseason addition of Michael Pittman Jr., Rico Dowdle, Jamel Dean, Jaquan Brisker, and Sebastian Joseph-Day raises the floor, but how much higher? Will they be a legitimate contender in Year 1 under McCarthy?
Unlikely. But with some offensive improvements and a better defensive coach, new coordinator Patrick Graham, the Steelers could win 11 games. Will that matter in the postseason, though? That’s the real question.
In Year 1, though, it’s clear that McCarthy should have a winning record. That’s pretty much expected.
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