Mike McCarthy is the Steelers' new head coach. He and Mike Tomlin have had remarkably similar coaching records, starting off with a Super Bowl win early on and then tailing off while still posting winning records (just barely year after year in Tomlin's case). From an article about the hire:
Mike McCarthy’s resume reads like this:
• 18 seasons, 174-112-2, 12 playoff seasons, eight division titles and one Super Bowl.
You know who that resume is almost identical to?
Mike Tomlin. And it is actually uncanny ...
• 19 seasons 193-114-2, 13 playoff seasons, eight division titles and one Super Bowl.
I think it's a decent hire. The local opinion is that it's more of the status quo, a continuation of Mike Tomlin's mediocrity and play it safe conservatism. We'll see. McCarthy grew up in a working class Pittsburgh neighborhood called Greenfield (his father was a fireman and also owned a bar), so while it would seem to be a popular hire, the DWFs wanted the organization to go young, like they did with Noll, Cowher and Tomlin. The "fire Tomlin" chants didn't start until Tomlin's 19th season; they're likely to start early on in McCarthy's first season if the team doesn't look any better than it has for the past decade.
McCarthy coached the Packers to a Super Bowl win over the Steelers when they had the relatively Whitest team in the league. At the least I expect the Steelers won't veer away from their somewhat white friendlier teams of late. I don't expect Aaron Rodgers to return, though it's possible as McCarthy is probably the only head coach he would play for, but retirement is his most likely route. The media and DWFs keep moaning about the lack of a franchise QB and how they'll never develop one when they always draft in the middle of the first round, but they have a possible one already on the roster in Will Howard. And anyways, drafting position hardly matters when the scouts, the draft "gurus" and the teams themselves swing and miss on so many early round picks every single year.
steelersnow.com
