The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering their first season in 19 years with a new head coach. Former tenured HC Mike Tomlin and the Steelers parted ways after the Houston Texans scored 23 points in the fourth quarter of the AFC Wild Card round to secure a 30-6 win over the Steelers at home.
Now, the Steelers have hired an old friend of their QB1 Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy. McCarthy and Rodgers–ironically enough–won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in 2011 against the Steelers.
15 years later, Rodgers and McCarthy have begun training camp for a new organization with the same goal. However, Steelers traditions run deep and some of the veteran players have made their voices their voices heard about the changes McCarthy is trying to make.
Steelers Captain Cam Heyward Says Mike McCarthy is ‘Trying to Force Something New’
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward spoke to the media at training camp about new head coach Mike McCarthy. He spoke fondly about McCarthy saying that it resonates with him that he’s from Pittsburgh, but some of the other players might not respect that he is trying to force something new.
“I think what resonated with me is he’s from Pittsburgh,” Heyward said of McCarthy. “He has a lot of respect for the tradition here, but he’s trying to force something new, and I think that doesn’t apply to everybody in the locker room. I love the one thing he said is it’s going to take 68-plus guys to win a Super Bowl. That includes the practice squad, and that’s always respectful, that he respects everybody in that locker room we’ve got to go for that.”
Over the last 25 years, the Steelers organization has not made a lot of changes until recently. General manager Omar Khan was hired to replace Kevin Colbert after 22 seasons. And McCarthy was hired to replace Mike Tomlin after 19 seasons.
However, the Steelers have become stagnant since last making the Super Bowl in 2011.
Heyward has been through it all with the Steelers, he was drafted as the 31st overall pick by the Steelers in 2011, has seven pro-bowl selections, four-time All-Pro, and received the 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
With it being Rodgers last season and the end of Heyward’s approaching, the Steelers are needing to make a big change if they want to make it past the Wild Card round in the playoffs.
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Steelers Switch From Defensive-Minded Coach to Offensive-Mind With McCarthy
For years, Mike Tomlin ran the Steelers from a defensive-mindset, developing some of the best defensive players and the league, and remaining a consistent top defense.
However, with Tomlin out and McCarthy in, the Steelers are going to be looking at a big switch this season.
McCarthy is an offensive-minded head coach who will be taking over offensive-play calling this season. Leaving offensive coordinator Brian Angelicho to focus on game planning.
This will be a huge philosophical switch for the Steelers organization who has not hired an offensive-minded coach in the Super Bowl era.
Many Steelers veterans have yet to play with an offensive-minded coach in their career. Tight end Pat Freiermuth says that it’s going to be different, but he appreciates McCarthy trying to install that mindset into the players.
“I mean, him calling the plays, that’s obviously different,” Freiermuth said of McCarthy at training camp. “Him installing the plays, it’s definitely different. I’ve never had an offensive head coach either, so it’s cool. So it’s definitely different, but it’s cool to kind of have that interaction with him where he’s helping us install and see what we want.”
Luckily enough for the Steelers offense, Aaron Rodgers is familiar with McCarthy’s style of play. Making it an easy transition for their QB1.
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