Steelers' Mike McCarthy's Alarming Record Against Elite Coaches Raises Questions

The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering a new period of their franchise, shifting head-coaching philosophies. Going from a conservative, defensive mind in Mike Tomlin, to an aggressive, offensive guru in Mike McCarthy, things are going to be very different on the field. Regardless of who's better on offense or defense, this team and fan base just want to win right now. They need to be better against top teams in the league if they want any chance of finally winning another playoff game and better yet, winning a Super Bowl.

In recent years, Tomlin wasn't great against the bigger teams in the league. He always seemed to have the Steelers ready against divisional opponents, but never really came away with wins against top teams. Additionally, there were times it felt like his teams played down to inferior squads. That reflects having around nine to 11 wins per year, but it got old. It didn't translate to victories in the playoffs and now this franchise looks to move past that with McCarthy. 

While the new staff, culture, and personnel are different, there's something that has somewhat remained the same between the two coaches. That is the record against other top coaches. Like Tomlin, McCarthy also struggled against the top teams in the league, according to Steelers insider Christopher Carter on the Locked On Steelers podcast. He took a deep dive into looking at what McCarthy has accomplished in his career in the big games, but came to the conclusion that it was similar results to Tomlin.

“Overall, historically, how has Mike McCarthy done against them," Carter asked. "And he didn’t do terribly, but he does have a losing record against those coaches looking at his history."

Carter came away with a lot of similarities in the big games between McCarthy and Tomlin. He has a losing record against them all time, which is a major red flag entering his first season with the Steelers. Looking at McCarthy, he's always featured a franchise quarterback. He coached prime Dak Prescott with the Dallas Cowboys, and with the Green Bay Packers, he had Brett Favre and a young Aaron Rodgers.

While he does have Rodgers again, he comes in a much older form. He's a future Hall of Famer and still has his elite arm, but it's not in the same shape as it was a decade ago. Working with a much older quarterback who is more of a bridge for this organization will be a different experience for McCarthy to work with. Considering it's something different, McCarthy will have to make adjustments to his typical coaching tactics. 

McCarthy needs to make changes to adjust to this team he's working with in Pittsburgh. There's a lot that needs done, especially if he wants to solve this history of losing to better coaches. He no longer has an MVP-caliber quarterback directing his offense. It's a major difference, but the weapons that the Steelers brought in might be to help him with an older quarterback. 

The key towards a McCarthy team winning is outscoring opponents. Obviously, that goes for every team, but the point is, McCarthy's teams are usually the ones with a high-scoring offense. There's a lot of hype around defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, but with an aging defense, they need McCarthy's offensive mind to really take over these games to come away with wins. 

Steelers Need Mike McCarthy To Flip Script Vs Top Teams

With a career record against top coaches being below .500, Pittsburgh needs McCarthy to turn that around in his first season with the organization. The Steelers really need to win now and the culture change jumping from Tomlin to McCarthy was encouraging to this fan base to maybe ignite something different.

Hearing about his history against top coaches is slightly concerning, especially with an older quarterback, but it will be a big test to see if he can turn things around with his hometown team.

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