Is Mike McCarthy’s coaching staff shaping up to be better than Mike Tomlin’s?
Mike McCarthy is still putting the pieces in place on his Steelers coaching staff, which may be bigger than Mike Tomlin’s. There are some interesting names on the list—and some interesting names off the list, too. While he kept some coaches, he didn’t keep Eddie Faulkner, Karl Dunbar, Alfredo Roberts, or Pat Meyer.
Meyer worked with this young offensive line, but McCarthy is adding James Campen for that job. Campen is a respected name in coaching circles, and it sounds like Jahri Evans will be joining him as an assistant.
To lead the defense, McCarthy is adding Patrick Graham, with whom he has worked previously. His reputation is a guy who can do a lot with a little, and the Steelers want to give him a lot. Arguably, they did little with a lot last season.
On offense, Mike McCarthy will call the plays, so the offensive coordinator role is different in important ways. That opens the door for a different type of coach, as we’ve seen. As long as McCarthy can do the job, it should be an interesting dynamic.
The big unknown is how McCarthy’s special teams will look. Mike Tomlin placed tremendous value on that phase of the game, and he had Danny Smith running the show. When Tomlin resigned, Smith left, and they are still exploring their options.
Obviously, we can’t fully judge Mike McCarthy’s coaching staff before it is complete. One thing we do know is that he has deep ties and many associations, and he is putting that to good use. There might not be any “celebrity” names on the list, like Mike McDaniel, but name recognition doesn’t make game plans.
The Steelers have had a clear through-line on defense for decades, even if Tomlin introduced some changes over time. McCarthy is on record as saying he will retain the 3-4 structure, but how much will things change? Odds are he will be more hands-off on that side of the ball than Tomlin was. Which is probably an understatement.
The Steelers are out of the playoffs, exiting in the first round yet again, a pattern going back to 2017. With seven consecutive postseason losses and no wins in nearly a decade, they are facing another long, long offseason. No doubt we will see many changes, but none will top Mike Tomlin’s resignation.
The playoffs are still going, but for us and the Steelers, we are transitioning to offseason mode. That’s what happens when the team you cover loses by the middle of January all the time, but you’ve been around, so you know that already. Enjoy the ride, even the turbulence, because it’s the only way we know how to travel anymore.