While Mike McCarthy has brought change to Pittsburgh, many Steelers veterans like T.J. Watt have bought into his plans. It helps that, unlike Pittsburgh’s other head coach candidates, he has an established track record as a head coach. In other words, they know that he knows what he’s going and that it works.
And having veterans like Watt and Cam Heyward and others buy into it goes a long way for McCarthy, Steelers beat reporter Jeff Hathhorn said on 93.7 The Fan this week. Speaking about the changes, he noted the lack of breaks during practice and constant motion. That sort of change could rile veterans, but that certainly doesn’t seem to have been the case.
“Of all the people you can read, how are the veterans thinking about this? Look at how T.J. [Watt]’s bought in”, he said. “He was there for a lot of voluntary stuff. He’s agreed to do something that he didn’t agree to do. If you’ve got T.J. buying in, that’s probably a good thing for that room and them buying into what McCarthy’s done. Quite frankly, we know McCarthy’s kind of, he’ll drop a Yinzer here and a Greenfield there and just happy. I’ll tell you what, man. He brings some intensity to that practice field I just hadn’t experienced, because I hadn’t been around the guy”.
While he is preserving some things, McCarthy is undeniably bringing change, even to T.J. Watt. Under new DC Patrick Graham, it sounds as though they’re finally getting him to be open to moving around. Other reporters have suggested that the outside linebacker position could return more to the roots of the 3-4. In recent years, they’ve begun to drop their edge players less often, for example, a variable that could return under Graham.
Of course, it’s not just T.J. Watt Mike McCarthy has in his corner. The fact that Aaron Rodgers, who won over the locker room last year, can vouch for him inevitably goes a long way as well. While nobody on the roster was here when Rodgers and McCarthy beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl in 2010, they certainly know about it. And having that shiny ring on your finger doesn’t hurt to make your argument more persuasive.
When it comes to the defense, though, it seems as though that is truly Patrick Graham’s show. And perhaps that’s partly why defenders like T.J. Watt have bought into Mike McCarthy’s vision. Because they believe in Graham and appreciate McCarthy’s willingness to cede control where it’s appropriate. Basically the only guiding principle McCarthy’s had for Graham has been to preserve the 3-4 defense.
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