Steelers' Mike McCarthy Didn't Mean To But He Just Seriously Exposed Mike Tomlin

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a completely different situation now that Mike Tomlin is no longer the man in charge. Mike McCarthy has taken over as head coach, and it's expected to look like a much different football team on the field. Off the field, many expect much of the traditional Steelers way to remain intact, even with McCarthy in town. He's a Pittsburgh guy who understands the standard and wants to help the franchise get back to winning meaningful football games. If anyone understands what this fan base has gone through over the last decade, it is McCarthy.

With so much attention focused on McCarthy and the new coaching staff he brought with him, there are naturally plenty of questions about how the team will look once it takes the field. McCarthy has a proven track record of offensive success throughout his 18 seasons as an NFL head coach. Now, entering his 19th season, he's tasked with turning things around in the Steel City. For that to happen, McCarthy knows he'll need to maximize his personnel at a much higher level than the Steelers did down the stretch in recent years. 

Tomlin was a tremendous leader and a very well respected head coach across the NFL landscape, but many pundits felt his tenure in Pittsburgh had run its course and that a new voice was needed. As it turns out, Tomlin actually agreed with them. Change is expected under McCarthy, but exactly what that will look like remains to be seen. 

What has already caught attention, however, is an eye-opening remark from McCarthy that could leave some Steelers fans questioning aspects of Tomlin's approach even more. As revealed by Steelers insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, McCarthy recently made a comment that sheds light on how differently he plans to operate moving forward. It also exposed why Tomlin wasn't able to end the playoff drought.

"I think if you have a system that cannot utilize the strength and the personnel that’s available, then I think you have to take a hard look at your system," McCarthy said. "I’ve started my journey in coaching in the two-back offense, I still believe the principle of it and still teach from the foundation of two-back offense."

It's important to be very clear about the context of what McCarthy was talking about here. He wasn't discussing Tomlin at all. In fact, he was answering a question about rookie fullback Riley Nowakowski.

Still, what McCarthy said echoes a point many Steelers fans had been making about Tomlin for quite some time. The belief among some observers was simple: if you can't consistently win games with a defense that was so heavily invested in and led by stars such as TJ Watt and Cam Heyward, while also featuring playmakers at every level, at some point you have to look inward at the system itself.

Steelers Faithful Never Saw The Defensive Changes They Had Hoped For

Throughout Tomlin's 19 seasons in charge, many felt there were times when meaningful changes were needed but never truly came. No one knows exactly what Tomlin's thought process was, but toward the end of his tenure in Pittsburgh, it often seemed as though the results remained the same regardless of who was filling certain roles.

Former Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin may or may not deserve a chunk of the blame. Though many believe Tomlin maintained significant influence over the defense, making it difficult to determine exactly where responsibility should be placed. What Steelers fans did see, however, was a defense loaded with elite talent repeatedly struggle in some of the biggest moments, yet little appeared to change from a philosophical standpoint.

Even though McCarthy wasn't talking about Tomlin with these comments, his perspective can still be used to help explain some of the frustrations that surrounded the Steelers during the latter stages of Tomlin's run in Pittsburgh.

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