A week ago today, Mike Tomlin made the surprising decision to step down as the Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Seven days later, the Black and Gold appear to be highly interested in the guy that beat Tomlin in his last Super Bowl appearance. At 62 years old, former Packers and Cowboys’ head coach Mike McCarthy will be interviewing this week.
Are the Steelers Looking for a “Bridge?”
I ask this because of the current state of the Steelers’ roster. The QB position currently has Mason Rudolph and Will Howard which suggests the team will bring in another veteran or draft someone to sit behind Rudolph or another vet. Perhaps Omar Khan and Art Rooney II would rather a veteran coach handle this versus a first-time coach. The rest of the roster also contains more uncertainty than what we see in most seasons as well.
On the surface, this does make some sense. Let’s not forget that McCarthy is a native son of Pittsburgh and his Western Pennsylvania roots would go over well. Not to the level of Cowher but I can see him being embraced more than a lot of other guys. But we must also consider this is a guy that once beat the Steelers in a Super Bowl and coached the Dallas Cowboys of all teams. The last thing Steelers’ fans want is a castoff from the hated Cowboys and don’t laugh; that’s a huge consideration here.
Do I see the logic in bringing in McCarthy? I do but only to a point. The organization, whether it wants to admit it or not, needs a reset. The fan base has known and felt this for years but ARII and Khan have to sense this as well. It would seem that the formula that the organization has used three times before has proven pretty successful so why go away from it? Bring in the young, first-time head coach and let’s go even if there are some growing pains.
