With nearly an entirely new coaching staff in tow, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to look different in 2026. Mike Tomlin is no longer in the building, and Mike McCarthy replaces him as the Steelers’ new head coach. It hasn’t been very long since McCarthy took over, but in an interview with Max Starks, GM Omar Khan expressed his appreciation for the new ideas McCarthy has already brought to the table.
“It’s been great. I think McCarthy’s really embraced our process, but the cool thing about it, Max, has been just the new ideas. And hearing how he’s done it in other places. He’s been at winning organizations, and successful organizations that have done it a certain way. And we like how we do it, but there’s nothing wrong with hearing about how other people do it. Just maybe taking some ideas and putting it in our system and the way we do it. That’s what we’ve done. It’s been fun,” Khan said via Steelers.com.
McCarthy will obviously be different as a head coach than Tomlin was, but it wasn’t the appointment many were hoping for, at least out of the gate. It does seem like McCarthy is winning over at least a few of his doubters by now. Yet the hire sure didn’t bring much excitement when it was first announced.
A large part of that was the similar playoff struggles McCarthy and Tomlin had. McCarthy does have one Super Bowl win. But since then, he’s really struggled to progress in the playoffs, despite having talented quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott throughout his career.
The Steelers still look the same in the front office with Khan running things, but things will be very different with McCarthy as head coach. The Steelers recognized their offensive struggles and their lack of quarterback consistency in recent years. McCarthy has a long history of building successful offenses and has always produced, no matter who his quarterbacks are. Simply hiring McCarthy shows a difference in the Steelers’ thought process after going through 19 years with a defensive-minded head coach like Tomlin.
So far, the Steelers are already starting to build up McCarthy’s offense. They traded for Michael Pittman Jr., giving them a solidified receiving duo along with DK Metcalf. Pittsburgh also added Rico Dowdle, who had his first real success under McCarthy in Dallas. And the McCarthy influence certainly shows up in the coaching staff he put together, many of whom he has worked with before.
At 62, McCarthy won’t be in charge for 19 years, as his predecessor was. But the Steelers know they need to rectify the offensive side of the ball, and it’s been lacking for years. Just a short time into their tenure together, Khan is already a fan of the ideas McCarthy is bringing to the table.