The Pittsburgh Steelers fan base is accustomed to certain things on a year-in and year-out basis.

Things like:

Being competitive every season
Winning anywhere around 9-10 games
Vying for a playoff spot at season’s end

This was all with Mike Tomlin at the helm, and for almost two decades he delivered enough for fans to have those aforementioned expectations before the season starts. But with Mike McCarthy now holding the reigns of the Steelers roster, what happens to fan expectations?

Some have said they’ve never been lower, and those who suggest that are likely those who were furious with the decision to hire McCarthy instead of sticking to be blueprint of hiring a young coordinator to be the head coach.

Some have suggested the expectations remain the same. McCarthy is a veteran coach with a veteran-laden roster, so winning games shouldn’t be an issue. And those people who feel this way likely saw some silver lining in the cloud which covered the Steelers during the coaching search.

No matter where you fall on the proverbial spectrum, my suggestion is to do the following…

Don’t have expectations.

Yes, you read that correctly. Don’t have any expectations for the 2026 Steelers.

This was a topic of conversation on this week’s Steelers Preview podcast, and all three of us had a differing opinion on what our expectations were of the upcoming season. Clearly, you know where I stood, and there’s a reason why.

With McCarthy in charge, we have no idea how that will impact the team from an organizational standpoint. Will McCarthy give way to Omar Khan and Andy Weidl, as it pertains to roster building decisions? Outside of the roster construction, how will McCarthy and his offensive mind impact the team’s production on the offensive side of the football?

No one knows.

Likewise, with an almost completely revamped coaching staff, how will coaches like Patrick Graham impact the defense? Will we see veterans like T.J. Watt used in a way which can better help the defense on a weekly basis? Will he help those aging players, and even those younger players looking to find their own, be able to turn the defense into one which can be more dominant?

If you’re a positive person, like me, you always tend to think about how things can change for the better, but the opposite is always a possibility too. McCarthy could struggle with improving the Steelers roster, and Graham could fall into the same pitfalls we saw Tomlin and Teryl Austin fall into over the years.

No one knows.

For all these reasons, and more, fans should enter the upcoming season with not just low expectations, but no expectations. Don’t expect 8-9 wins. Don’t expect improved offense with more passes over the middle. Don’t expect a defense which will be as advantageous in taking the ball away. Don’t expect a team who rallies around McCarthy immediately. Don’t expect free agents to want to come to Pittsburgh unless they are the highest bidder.

Don’t expect anything.

Instead, take a wait-and-see approach to the upcoming season, and fans won’t have to wait long until some of that unknown starts to reveal itself. When the tampering period starts on March 9th we’ll see if the Steelers operate at status quo, or take a unique approach to handling free agents. From there, how they handle the 2026 NFL Draft will be the next hurdle to clear, and yet another sign of what might be to come.

But even after all that, don’t have any expectations until those proverbial bullets truly start to fly. Once those games start to count is when fans will see with our own eyes what the Mike McCarthy Steelers will resemble. In the meantime, drop those expectations to zero, and watch how this story unfolds.