Steelers' Mike McCarthy Faces Massive Challenge That He Has Never Dealt With Before

The Pittsburgh Steelers concluded their 2026 head coaching search by reportedly agreeing to hire former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy. The Pittsburgh native is a former Super Bowl champion and also had success with the Cowboys. McCarthy is coming into a Steelers team that features no true long-term quarterback, no wide receiver two, and a young offensive line. Though McCarthy has had success elsewhere, he has always had a formidable quarterback.

Aaron Rodgers was his guy in Green Bay, and Dak Prescott was the guy in Dallas before McCarthy even got there. McCarthy could have the chance to draft his next guy at some point, but who knows when that may be.

McCarthy has never had to select, and then truly develop, a quarterback before. It will be interesting to see how he goes about such a challenge with the weak 2026 quarterback class. McCarthy can be credited with developing Rodgers, who is seen as one of the greatest throwers in football history. Rodgers was behind Hall of Famer Brett Favre for three years before playing, however.

McCarthy hasn't truly developed a franchise quarterback on his own. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk discussed the Steelers' hiring of McCarthy. He made some key points that could be troublesome for the Steelers. 

"McCarthy has inherited good quarterback situations." Florio said "He was there for the tail end of Favre. He was there for almost all of Aaron Rodgers... And then when he went to Dallas, Dak Prescott was there."

McCarthy is an offensive-minded coach, which gives him an advantage. The Steelers can make this move easier with some free agents or trade targets this offseason, but it still is interesting that no true answer is there for the quarterback position.

Daniel Jones is likely to hit the open market after suffering a torn Achilles in 2025. Before his injury, Jones was 8-5 as the starter and threw for 3,101 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Jones, who was a draft bust, is potentially having a career resurgence, and a team like the Steelers could help Jones through that process if the Indianapolis Colts do not re-sign him.

Steelers Could — For Once — Be Thinking Big Picture

The Steelers' biggest flaw over the last five seasons has been their inability to find a quarterback. Between Kenny Pickett, Justin Fields, and Mitch Trubisky, they have not been able to find a guy who sticks. McCarthy's top priority will likely be finding a quarterback. After all, it's been the one position he's consistently had. Whether they like Jones, someone from the 2026 class, or even give Will Howard a shot, McCarthy is going to figure it out.

McCarthy has also brought in some great assistants in his time with Dallas. Kellen Moore, who was a Super Bowl champion with the Philadelphia Eagles, was a tremendous hire. The Cowboys' current Head Coach, Brian Schottenheimer, was brought in by McCarthy. They were second in total offense in 2025. McCarthy will likely continue the trend of good offensive assistants in Pittsburgh.

McCarthy is the oldest head coach the Steelers have ever hired, at 62. He likely won't be in the Steel City as long as other former Steelers coaches. McCarthy probably isn't the Steelers' long-term plan, but he could set the Steelers up nicely with a young offensive assistant. 

He's done it before and can do it again. The Steelers  have traditionally given their head coach full control of the organization, so McCarthy could be able to do what he wants. It's currently unclear who will be on McCarthy's staff, given that he was hired so recently, but the Steelers could finally have a big-picture plan for the first time in a long time. 

What do you think? Was McCarthy the right move? Now, with McCarthy, who will be the Steelers' starting quarterback in 2026? Should they look to this draft or wait until 2027, or perhaps a free agent target? Let us know in the comments.

#SteelerNation