The Pittsburgh Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy hasn’t exactly been met with widespread praise among sports media’s chattering class. With a long track record of hiring up-and-coming, young defensive-minded coaches, hiring a veteran coach like McCarthy, 62, with an offensive pedigree is about the least-Steelers thing the team could’ve done.

But maybe that’s exactly why the hire will work, at least according to former Steelers coach and current CBS Sports studio analyst Bill Cowher. Appearing on Sunday’s episode of The NFL Today+, Cowher explained why he “really like[s]” the McCarthy hire.

“I really like this hire … everywhere he’s been he’s uplifted the offense.”@CowherCBS on the Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy as next head coach. pic.twitter.com/21OX8wZ3wm

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 25, 2026

“I really like this hire for this reason,” Cowher began. “Number one, he’s an offensive-minded guy, Mike McCarthy, everywhere he’s been. He grew up under Marty Schottenheimer, so he understands the value of running the football. He coached Joe Montana, he coached Brett Favre, he coached Aaron Rodgers, he coached Dak Prescott. Everywhere he’s been, he’s uplifted the offense. And if you look at the Pittsburgh Steelers right now, if there’s been inconsistencies in the last recent years, it’s been the instability of a reliable offense. They got defensive guys that can sack the quarterback, they can create turnovers. So I like where they’re at.

“He also walks into that room with credibility. So I like what they did. They’ll put together a good staff right here. Oh yeah, he’s from Pittsburgh too. …He knows the tradition. He knows what the expectation is. He knows what that fanbase is all about. He’s a Yinzer. I think he’s a very good hire for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”

Is it surprising for Cowher to defend his former team? Of course not. But he does bring up some solid points that look past the fact that McCarthy is a “retread” hire. There are few other coaches with similar pedigrees when it comes to developing quarterbacks, something the Steelers need. He’s also decidedly different than every other Steelers coach since Chuck Noll was hired in 1969. For a team that has been stuck in 10-7/9-8 purgatory for the past five seasons, maybe this is the type of change the franchise needs.