Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy during his introductory press conference on Jan. 27, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee provided some insight on what it’s like to play for Mike McCarthy recently on The Christian Kuntz Podcast.
Lee, who’s a Pittsburgh native and Penn State alum, played under McCarthy in Dallas.
“He’s got the incredible offensive background of being a play-caller, and then he’s got this ability to adapt his practices,” Lee told Kuntz. “He’s an unbelievable person, a great guy. A true football guy. So, you’re going to get the combination of this Pittsburgh old school toughness, along with his offensive innovation.”
McCarthy has coached three highly successful quarterbacks in Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott, and may be instrumental in luring Rodgers back to Pittsburgh. The four-time NFL MVP is still pondering his NFL future.
A native of the city’s Greenfield neighborhood, McCarthy attended Bishop Boyle High School in Homestead and matriculated to Salem University, Scottsdale Community College and Baker University, where he was an all-conference tight end at the NAIA level.
He got his coaching start as a graduate assistant Fort Hays State, and then coached at Pitt under Mike Gottfried and Paul Hackett from 1989-92, getting promoted to wide receivers coach in the process.
From Pitt, McCarthy went to the NFL, where he followed Hackett as quality control coach and then quarterbacks coach, working with Joe Montana, Rich Gannon, Elvis Grbac and Steve Bono.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy with team president Art Rooney II and general manager Omar Khan during his introductory press conference on Jan. 27, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb also recently raved about McCarthy. McCarthy was Lamb’s head coach for his first five seasons in the league.
“Oh, my God, a great guy,” Lamb said during a recent appearance on the Ross Tucker Podcast. “He loves Pittsburgh, that’s my man. I love Mike, I love Mike, coach McCarthy for those that don’t know, he’s the only coach that I’ve had besides (Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer). He’s a great time; as soon as you walk in the building, you’re going to feel his energy, you’re going to feel what he wants to do. He wants to go vertical with the ball, I’m gonna tell you that right now.
“So, he’s going to do everything, tailor his offense and get things situated. But man, he’s Pittsburgh down, and everything that he’s done, it’s been out of love. That’s another guy that I feel like I would run through a wall for. Mike did a great job of really just developing me my first five years in the league, and I knew what to prepare for going forward.”
Mentioned In This Article: Christian Kuntz Dallas Cowboys Penn State Pittsburgh Steelers Sean Lee Steelers Steelers News