As it turns out, new Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy may have “won” his opening press conference – perhaps Art Rooney II’s worries on that front were in vain. Rooney introduced McCarthy as the franchise’s 17th head coach on Tuesday, January 27th out the South Side 125 years to the day after his grandfather and franchise founder Art Rooney Sr. was born.
The Rooney’s decision to hire McCarthy has not been a popular one in Steelers Nation – although it is easy to imagine the fan outrage for “sticking to the template” that would have followed had Rooney II hired Chris Shula instead.
Be that as it may, there’s no denying that hearing a Steelers coach, talk Steelers football with a distinct Pittsburgh accent resonates with something deep in the soul.
With that understood, McCarthy will and should be judged by how he does on the field, not how strongly he presented his yinzer credentials to the press. So here are a few quick takeaways.
Art Rooney II and Omar Khan bookend Mike McCarthy. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
1. McCarthy Wants Rodgers Back
Art Rooney II has said he’s open to Aaron Rodgers coming back, and Mike McCarthy made it clear he welcome his former signal caller back with open arms. While McCarthy declined to put a deadline on a decision from Rodgers, Rooney had made it clear in interviews with the press that the franchise will need a decision before free agency.
2. McCarthy is Focused on Training
Mike McCarthy began his career as an NFL head coach in 2006. A lot has changed since then. Two-a-day training camp practices were a given then. The Oklahoma drill was a rite of passage. Coaches could run padded practices when they wanted to late in the year.
- Today those are relics of a bygone era.
McCarthy has plugged himself into those changes, and went as far (in the context of so many playoff games being decided in the 4th quarter) “you almost have to reengineer how you want your team to train.”
As a “practice makes perfect” person, this is a refreshing take. When she wrote for Behind the Steel Curtain, Rebecca Rollett explored the impact that reduced practice time might have on a teams after the adoption of the 2011 CBA.
Mike Tomlin took the 2016 Steelers to the AFC Championship, so he obviously was able to adjust to the change, but it is good to know that McCarthy is focused on making the best use of training/practice time.
For the 1st time in 54 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers will not hold training camp at St. Vincents, in Latrobe. Photo Credit: WPXI
Along those lines, a lot of his comments seemed to relate to physical training, and if the Steelers can do anything to condition themselves to even slightly reduce soft-tissue injuries, it will give them a competitive advantage.
3. McCarthy Is Into Trends
Look at the transcript of his press conference and McCarthy’s use of “trends” pops out at you. He mentioned it several times. If memory serves, in his opening press conference, Mike Tomlin talked about being a “fundamentalist” and throughout his tenure focused (at least in public comments) on execution over scheme.
McCarthy’s focus on “trends” could simply be a different means to reach a similar end, but the contrast stood out.
4. Wearing It on His Sleeve. And Then Some.
Chuck Noll was cerebral. OK, watch the tape of the 1989 Steelers upset of the Oilers in the AstroDome and you’ll see the Emperor drop many an F-bomb. But no one would ever accuse Chuck Noll of “wearing his emotions on sleeve.” (Well, Jerry Glanville might, but that’s another story.)
Bill Cowher in 1992. Photo Credit: thisisopus.com
In contrast, I don’t think Bill Cowher was capable of holding emotions back. In answering questions on his book Dawn of a New Steel Age Ed Bouchette remarked about Cowher, “He had a range of emotions and did not hide them.”
Tomlin on the other hand was more cerebral. Yes, was certainly more reactive than Chuck Noll on the sidelines, but he had nothing of the intensity of Bill Cowher.
- Mike McCarthy choked up and outright cried at multiple points during his press conference.
So it looks like the Steelers brass opted for another expressive coach.
5. Three Is a Crowd?
Art Rooney, Omar Khan AND Mike McCarthy were all on stage for the press conference, which was held at Acrisure Stadium. Tomlin took his alone, and based on the photos so did Bill Cowher.
At the end of the day, it probably signals nothing, but it was unexpected nonetheless.
6. “Local Boy Does Good” Narrative Nice. But It Has Limits…
Mike McCarthy clearly is of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh is of him.
Per Andrew Bryant, he introduced himself in Green Bay in his first interview there as a “Pittsburgh guy.” Given that the roots of the sport of football run deeply into Western Pennsylvania that reality carries some weight.
By the look of it, his family still resides Pittsburgh. One can guess he’s been back quite a bit since his NFL journey took him around the league. Its no secret that many people from McCarthy’s generation and his parents’ generation have left Pittsburgh.
- And a lot more left thinking they’d return one day than actual returned.
As anyone who left Pittsburgh, or as in my case is from a family whose parents left Pittsburgh, the idea of coming back to take the reigns of one of the city’s most iconic institutions is over-powering.
J&L steel in 1967. Image via PG Interactive
And there’s no shame in McCarthy showing it, nor is there anything wrong with the Steelers PR machine showcasing that side of the story.
It is easy to say “…Well, I don’t remember them doing this when BILL COWHER came back to Pittsburgh.” No they didn’t. And my first look at Bill Cowher came from a discarded copy of the USA Today that a roommate had left on the floor of a college dorm in Baltimore, Maryland a day or so after he was hired.
My first view of McCarthy hire came when my cellphone started beeping thanks to the Mexican Steelers WhatsApp groups I’m part while I was sweeping up dust in my apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina…. Digital communication has change our world in ways we are no longer concious of.
- So its fine for McCarthy and fine for the team to lean into “local boy comes home” narrative.
As long as they remember that what will make that story special isn’t the return of the local boy, but what he does on the football field following his arrival.
