What changes will Mike McCarthy bring to the Steelers’ offseason?
Mike McCarthy’s tenure as Steelers head coach is just beginning this offseason, with player interactions set to begin. Phase 1 of the offseason program for the Steelers begins tomorrow, though there is only coach-player contact in the classroom at this point.
But we have already seen that the way McCarthy intends to stagger the Steelers’ OTA practices is different, for example. Not that Mike Tomlin always did everything exactly the same, granted. This year, there is a “voluntary veteran minicamp” scheduled before OTAs, with the usual mandatory minicamp following OTAs. The veteran minicamp is only because McCarthy is a new coach, though, so it has nothing to do with Tomlin.
But there will inevitably be differences in how McCarthy runs the Steelers. The days off between OTA practices in the first two weeks, for example, is one very minor difference. With almost entirely new coaches, training staff, and everything else, change is inevitable.
One thing that won’t change under Mike McCarthy this offseason is where the Steelers hold training camp. He mentioned Latrobe himself, so we no longer have to take it for granted or through third-party comments. The Steelers will continue their very long tradition of training camp at Saint Vincent College under McCarthy. They have gone there, minus the years under Covid-19 restrictions, consistently for several decades.
McCarthy will have his hands full in the early portions of the offseason, though, installing new schemes on both sides of the ball for the Steelers. He has already admitted it’s been tough going, especially with the responsibilities of the draft. According to himself, he has been more involved in the Steelers’ draft process than he was in Dallas or Green Bay.
In fact, it’s during these veteran minicamps that precede OTAs that grant teams with new coaches to get a jump on their installation process. That’s why teams like the Steelers how have a new coach, as they have with McCarthy, have an earlier starting date for their offseason program. But once we get into the heart of the matter, how will we see things differ? For nearly two decades, we have only seen subtle variations of Mike Tomlin.
The Steelers exited the playoffs in the first round yet again, a pattern going back to 2017.With seven consecutive postseason losses, and no wins in nearly a decade, they are facing another long, long offseason. No doubt we will see many changes, but none will top Mike Tomlin resigning.
The NFL has crowned its latest champion, but for us and the Steelers, we have been in offseason mode. That’s what happens when the team you coverloses by the middle of January all the time, but you’ve been around, so you know that already. Enjoy the ride, even the turbulence, because it’s the only way we know how to travel anymore.
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