Change can be scary in the NFL, especially when a new head coach comes in and may be looking for different things than the last guy. With Mike Tomlin gone and Mike McCarthy in place, where does that leave some of the young guys on the Steelers’ roster? At least for QB Will Howard, he thinks it’s the perfect situation.
“I’m so glad it was Coach McCarthy,” Howard said via The Christian Kuntz Podcast. “You wanna talk about a QB guru. I mean, he’s showing me clips of Joe Montana back in ’93 and Rich Gannon and all these guys. We’re watching clips from the 1993 AFC Championship Game installing some stuff. It is like vintage, OG, really good stuff. True football guy through and through.”
One of McCarthy’s main selling points when he interviewed with the team, and perhaps the top reason he was hired, was the belief he could find and develop the next franchise quarterback in Pittsburgh. His interview reportedly featured clips and graphics of exactly how he teaches the position. Those same clips he showed Art Rooney II and Omar Khan are likely the ones Howard referenced.
McCarthy is known for going back to the basics and working from the ground up in his “quarterback school.” It’s something Aaron Rodgers went through daily for years before seeing the field while he waited behind Brett Favre. If Rodgers returns for another season, the Steelers have both the teacher and his star pupil as living proof that the program can work.
They’ve only seen the field for a few sessions together during voluntary minicamp so far, and already Howard sees a difference in his game.
“I’ve already learned a ton from him and his footwork nuances that he kind of has implemented for me and for Mason [Rudolph] and for everybody,” Howard said. “Me being a young guy, I’m kind of still trying to figure out my identity in this thing and who I’m gonna be and he’s really kind of shaping that and helping me shape who I am as a player. So I just think I’m in probably the best scenario I could possibly be in.”
Pittsburgh also added third-round QB Drew Allar to the mix during the draft as competition for Howard moving forward. One of Allar’s primary shortcomings in college was his footwork, perfectly aligning with what Howard described as the main learning so far. Rookies will see the field for the first time Friday, the start rookie minicamp.
It’s unclear when the podcast was taped, as Howard never addressed the Allarphant in the room. Either way, it doesn’t change his trajectory for the time being.
If either Howard or Allar hits, McCarthy’s QB school may finally be the thing that graduates Pittsburgh from a decade of playoff frustration.
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