Ryan Clark could bring a critical eye to Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s not lowering the bar for new head coach Mike McCarthy, either. Asked for his expectations about the 2026 Steelers under McCarthy’s helm, Clark thinks remaining competitive is not the goal but the likely outcome.
“I think the expectations are that this is gonna be a playoff team,” Clark said on ESPN’s First Take Tuesday morning. “That’s the reason that Mike McCarthy was hired.”
It’s why McCarthy was hired instead of a first-time fresh face. Owner Art Rooney II specifically cited McCarthy’s excellent resume and long track record that made him stand out from the rest of the candidates.
In Pittsburgh’s reload-not-rebuild mentality, the Steelers are still trying to cash in on the final years of Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt’s career before having to completely reset the defense. For his part, McCarthy’s on record against making major overhauls to either side of the ball though the offense will have more changes than the defense.
That might be Pittsburgh’s aim, but Clark knows those plans could quickly disappear.
“[McCarthy] was also hired because of the work that he does with the young quarterbacks,” he said. “And right now, this is my feeling. This could be the first losing season the Pittsburgh Steelers have had in nearly two decades.”
Like many pundits, Clark floated the idea of Pittsburgh finishing below .500 for the first time since 2003. Mike Tomlin always kept Pittsburgh above that mark, though some believe that was to the franchise’s detriment. To keep the streak alive and remain in the postseason mix, McCarthy must show he can win close games the way Tomlin uniquely could. He might have to do so with an inexperienced quarterback like Will Howard.
“[Tomlin] overachieved year after year with below-level quarterback play with a below-level roster,” Clark said. “And this could be the year that all the chickens come home to roost, and they can have their first losing season.”
While Tomlin often beat expectations, he holds partial, if not greater, responsibility for the state of quarterback play and roster.
Clark’s words get muddied between the expectations of a playoff team versus the possibility of a losing season. It seems Clark understands Pittsburgh’s big-picture desire to keep on winning. He’s far from convinced it’ll happen. If anything, he expects this to be a “down” year by franchise standards.
Recommended for you