Steelers' Mike McCarthy Just Exposed Mike Tomlin’s Biggest Weakness: “More Detailed Quarterback Feedback Than Tomlin Gave in Years”

The Pittsburgh Steelers went through major changes during the 2026 offseason as the organization now has a nearly completely new coaching staff. The franchise also broke some of its most historic trends when going out and hiring its next head coach. Mike McCarthy does not fit the typical mold of a Pittsburgh head coach as he has been a head coach in the NFL for quite some time, and he is also an offensive-minded individual. Coaches that have been hired by the franchise in the past, like Mike Tomlin, are typically on the younger side and have more of a defensive focus.

The hire of McCarthy was initially panned by most fans, but the fan base has seemed to come around on the experienced leader. He was brought in to help Pittsburgh on the offensive side of the ball, and that is going to start with quarterback play. Aaron Rodgers is still taking his time making a decision, but the organization has some developmental quarterbacks to work on in Will Howard and Drew Allar. Allar was at rookie minicamp over the weekend, and he was seen working with McCarthy for the first time. Beat writer Mike DeFabo wrote about the duo in a recent piece for The Athletic.

"McCarthy is taking an extremely hands-on approach with his young quarterback," DeFabo wrote. "Truth be told, McCarthy probably gave more detailed, nuanced feedback to his quarterback than Mike Tomlin did in my entire time covering the former head coach. Yes, this has a lot to do with the fact that Tomlin was a defensive coordinator before he was hired as a head coach. But that’s the point."

McCarthy is already blowing Tomlin out of the water when it comes to coaching quarterbacks, but to be fair, that wasn't really Tomlin's expertise. Tomlin also had Ben Roethlisberger for most of his career and didn't need to worry too much about development. The quarterback position has been up in the air for the last four seasons, and that is a big reason that a "qb guru" was brought in to be the head coach.

Every head coach in the NFL has their specialties. Tomlin's was being a player's coach and getting the most out of his team. He was the ultimate motivator, and that is a big reason the Steelers typically remained somewhat competitive even with a struggling roster. McCarthy is not the same type of coach. He is going to use X's and O's on the offensive side of the ball to his advantage, and he is going to work to find Pittsburgh its next franchise quarterback. It'll be very different, but it is probably what is needed.

Fans have complained about the Steelers doing the same things over and over again, and the franchise finally broke some trends. Quarterback has been a problem, and the Steelers clearly want to fix it. Hopefully that can happen with McCarthy running the show and helping both Allar and Howard through their individual development.

Steelers' Drew Allar Is Being Rebuilt By Mike McCarthy

Allar has a ton of promising traits, and that has been the story with him throughout his football career. He is a decent athlete with a 6'5" frame and a gigantic arm, but he was never able to put everything together while at Penn State. His accuracy and decision making was questioned at times, and those are the types of things that McCarthy will try to fix. The head coach has not been shy in saying that he is going to retool the quarterback, starting with his footwork. His mechanics will also be toyed with, which hopefully helps him develop into a decent player that deserves a shot at the starting role at some point.

What do you think about this reporting from DeFabo? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!

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