With Mike Tomlin stepping down after 19 seasons at the helm of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the franchise turning the reins over to veteran head coach Mike McCarthy for the 2026 season and beyond, the braintrust in Pittsburgh is counting on the veteran head coach with 174 career wins and counting to keep the Steelers competitive.<\/p>\n
McCarthy has already stated he believes he\u2019s inheriting a playoff roster in Pittsburgh<\/a>, one that should remain in the mix moving forward. But questions at quarterback remain, as does the inability of the core group of players to get over the hump in the playoffs.<\/p>\n Despite the uncertainty, former Steelers quarterback and current analyst Charlie Batch sees similarities between the Steelers\u2019 moves this offseason and those the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made in the early 2000s, going from Tony Dungy to Jon Gruden.<\/p>\n Appearing on the Nick Kostos\u2019 You Better You Bet show from Super Bowl row, Batch explained why he sees similarities in the move to McCarthy compared to what Tampa Bay once did with Dungy and Gruden.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, when you look at just what Mike McCarthy inherited, yeah, it\u2019s \u2014 regardless if we like it or not \u2014 it\u2019s a playoff and division-winning team. And then now you needed a spark,\u201d Batch said of the move to McCarthy for the Steelers, according to video via the show\u2019s YouTube page<\/a>. \u201cAnd this move kind of reminds me of what Tampa Bay did. And I say that because Tampa Bay moved on from Tony Dungy. They needed a spark offensively; brought Jon Gruden in. They won the championship, won the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I\u2019m not saying that they win the Super Bowl next year, but it\u2019s a comparison that I can see happening.\u201d<\/p>\n The Buccaneers hired Dungy ahead of the 1996 season and saw him go 6-10, 10-6, and 8-8 in his first three years before Tampa Bay really took off. In 1999 and 2000, the Buccaneers were one of the best teams in football, going 11-5 and 10-6, reaching the NFC Championship Game in 1999 and losing to the then-St. Louis Rams, and then losing in the Wild Card to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2000.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay then lost in the Wild Card in 2001 to the Eagles, too, leading to Dungy\u2019s dismissal<\/a> after a 9-7 season.<\/p>\n In stepped Gruden, who took over a playoff team with all the pieces in place. In his first year, Gruden led Tampa Bay to a 12-4 record and won the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n That seems unlikely to happen in Pittsburgh in the move from Tomlin to McCarthy, but the comparison is apt. Ironically, Tomlin was on that Tampa Bay coaching staff<\/a> under Dungy and then Gruden, so it all fits.<\/p>\n In Pittsburgh, McCarthy inherits a team with plenty of high-end talent defensively, led by Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt and Jalen Ramsey. Those Buccaneers had Hall of Famers in Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch in place.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay had questions at quarterback late in Dungy\u2019s career, bouncing between Trent Dilfer and Shaun King before finding Brad Johnson. Then, in Gruden\u2019s first year, Johnson took off and played good football for the Super Bowl winners.<\/p>\n