Art Rooney II highlighted the qualities for which he was chosen to be the head coach
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II cited Mike McCarthy’s previous accomplishments as an NFL head coach and his ability to develop quarterbacks as key characteristics that led the organization to select the 62-year-old Pittsburgh native as the franchise’s next head coach.
“He’s someone with a longer track record than many of the other candidates, a winning track record,” Rooney emphasized to the team’s website in his first public statements since the Steelers and McCarthy reached a verbal agreement on Saturday. “He’s been a winner everywhere he’s been. Probably just as important for our purposes, the quarterbacks he’s worked with have had a lot of success. So he has a proven track record of developing top-tier quarterbacks. Those are the things that maybe stand out the most.”
News of the Steelers’ intention to hire McCarthy was met with an overwhelmingly negative response from fans on social media. However, Rooney rejected the criticism.
“We’re not really worried about winning the first press conference,” Rooney said. “It’s about choosing the coach who we think will help us win games, and social media has no influence at all. And none of that will matter once we start playing.”
“The message to our fans is, ‘We’re very excited. We think we have a coach who is well prepared to lead us into the next winning phase of Steelers football, and that’s what it’s all about.’ I think they’re going to love Coach Mike.”
The Steelers conducted three in-person interviews of an initial group of nine candidates after Mike Tomlin announced his resignation on Jan. 13. With a total of 310 games coached between his stints with the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers, McCarthy was the candidate with the most experience as an NFL head coach. Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who also had an in-person interview, was the only other candidate with NFL head coaching experience. The Steelers also interviewed Anthony Weaver, former defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins.
“We decided Mike was the right man for the job,” Rooney said, “so we offered him the job on Saturday.”
Mike McCarthy breaks the pattern of the last three Steelers head coaches. Tomlin, Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll, all with defensive experience, took over with no prior experience as NFL head coaches, and all were under the age of 38 when they were hired. McCarthy is not only the third-oldest active head coach in the NFL, but he is also the oldest in franchise history.
With that experience, McCarthy brings a .605 regular-season winning percentage and 185 total wins, including a Super Bowl XLV title against a Steelers team coached by Tomlin.
Although McCarthy has a relationship with Aaron Rodgers thanks to their 13-season partnership in Green Bay, Rooney indicated the signing had nothing to do with trying to convince the quarterback to return for another year.
“We decided to hire Mike because we believe he is the right coach for us at this time to help us achieve a championship,” Rooney said. “We don’t know what Aaron’s plans are at this point, and that didn’t factor much into the decision. We’ll see what Aaron decides, and we’ve left the door open, but obviously we all have to sit down and see if it makes sense. That will happen sometime next month. But the decision was made based on Mike being the coach we want, and it actually had very little to do with whether Aaron will come back or not.”
Aaron Rodgers initially signed a one-year deal with the Steelers in June 2025, and while he hasn’t publicly shared his plans for the future, he left open the possibility of continuing his playing career ahead of the Week 18 win against the Baltimore Ravens.
“When the season ends, I’ll be a free agent, so that will give me a lot of options if I still want to play,” he said. “I mean, not a lot of options, but there will be some, I guess one or two if I decide I still want to play.”
With Rodgers’ future up in the air, the Steelers only have two quarterbacks under contract for the 2026 season: veteran backup Mason Rudolph and Will Howard, a sixth-round pick in the 2025 draft. Rooney said McCarthy’s ability to develop quarterbacks was another of the qualities that motivated his hiring.
“I think the main thing is that we want a coach who will lead the team to win a championship,” Rooney said. “But, perhaps just as important, we’re looking for someone who can develop a quarterback. And since sooner or later we’ll be working with a young quarterback, Mike’s ability to develop the next quarterback is something that’s certainly important to us.”
Rooney added that McCarthy mentioned in his interview that he believes Howard, who helped Ohio State win a national championship, has “tremendous potential” and that the new coach feels “very comfortable” with the team’s quarterbacks.
