{"id":721084,"date":"2026-02-01T09:04:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T09:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/721084\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T09:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T09:04:20","slug":"mike-mccarthys-big-plan-puts-steelers-future-in-rising-stars-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/721084\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike McCarthy’s big plan puts Steelers’ future in rising star’s hands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether fans want to believe it or not, Omar Khan and Art Rooney II were very intentional with their most recent hire. Naming Mike McCarthy as just the fourth head coach<\/a> of the Pittsburgh Steelers since 1969 wasn\u2019t just about experience\u2014it was about alignment. <\/p>\n

McCarthy was raised by the very city he\u2019ll represent every Sunday, and his reputation for developing quarterbacks<\/a> is the hidden tune Steelers fans didn\u2019t realize they needed to hear. That music, loud and poetic, couldn\u2019t be more timely for second-year quarterback Will Howard.<\/p>\n

There may not be many NFL players positioned better than Pittsburgh\u2019s sixth-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft. Howard hasn\u2019t taken a regular-season snap yet, but he\u2019s been close enough to the fire to feel the heat. Spending a full year behind a future Hall of Fame quarterback<\/a> like Aaron Rodgers during a playoff push is more valuable than gold. <\/p>\n

Howard wasn\u2019t just holding a clipboard\u2014he was absorbing preparation habits, situational awareness, and the emotional demands of winning football. For a young quarterback, that kind of exposure accelerates growth in ways practice reps can\u2019t replicate.<\/p>\n

Now, the former national champion quarterback steps into Year Two with a head coach who made his name molding passers. McCarthy is a quarterback guru, an offensive architect who understands timing, footwork, and decision-making at a granular level. For Howard, it doesn\u2019t get any better than this.<\/p>\n

Mike McCarthy will develop Will Howard to become a franchise quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers <\/p>\n

The most encouraging part? McCarthy isn\u2019t hiding his excitement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited about Will Howard,\u201d McCarthy told reporters during his introductory press conference. \u201cI think he\u2019s someone that really came on at Ohio State.\u201d <\/p>\n

That praise wasn\u2019t casual. During his time as a Buckeye<\/a>, Howard threw for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. More importantly, he was instrumental during Ohio State\u2019s national championship run, displaying poise and command when the stakes were highest. Those traits don\u2019t go unnoticed by coaches who\u2019ve stood on the biggest stages.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Mike McCarthy delivers an emotional mission statement Steelers fans need to hear<\/a><\/p>\n

Even with uncertainty surrounding Rodgers\u2019 future, McCarthy made it clear that the young quarterback matters. \u201cIt would be great to have Aaron back,\u201d he said, \u201cbut Will and Mason\u2014I\u2019m really excited to get started with those guys.\u201d Recognition like that, on Day One, isn\u2019t small. It gives Howard purpose and confidence, even if the immediate direction of the quarterback room remains unclear.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s evident is McCarthy\u2019s commitment to developing his quarterbacks. He plans to be hands-on, invested, and deliberate. That approach benefits everyone\u2014the players, the coaches, and the franchise. It also gives Pittsburgh clarity. Before you can rebuild, you have to identify what you already have. And Howard will finally have the structure and mentorship to show who he can become.<\/p>\n

My hope is simple. I hope Will Howard becomes everything Steelers fans want him to be. The thought of a sixth-round pick leading the Steelers, with a hometown head coach calling the plays, feels like a storybook script. It\u2019s nostalgic and forward-looking all at once\u2014a season filled with possibility and untapped potential.<\/a><\/p>\n

The pieces are lining up. Now it\u2019s up to Will Howard to write the next chapter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether fans want to believe it or not, Omar Khan and Art Rooney II were very intentional with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":721085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[7,6,520,57,2360,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-721084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-pittsburgh","11":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","12":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","13":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115994575885610340","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=721084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/721085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}