Newly appointed Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy has been working hard all offseason to gain the team's trust and prepare the squad for the gauntlet that is the NFL regular season. This process has come with a very interesting approach as noted by one of the current players.
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Steelers Team President and Owner Art Rooney II with Head Coach Mike McCarthy at his introductory press conference in 2026.
McCarthy has a very lengthy resume and has been coaching in the NFL since 1993. He began his coaching career as the quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. He then served as the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, and San Francisco 49ers before eventually landing his first head-coaching gig with the aforementioned Packers. His 13-year tenure in Green Bay included a 125-77-2 regular season record, nine playoff appearances, six division titles, and one Super Bowl win. That Super Bowl is one that Steelers fans remember all too well, as the Packers defeated Pittsburgh 31-25. The team was led by legendary quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is currently the Steelers' starting quarterback.
McCarthy then went on to serve as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for five seasons before eventually parting ways and landing in the Steel City. Since his hiring, McCarthy has worked to change the culture in Pittsburgh and make the idea of postseason success a reality. In his first preseason as the Steelers' head coach, he has gained a lot of trust and respect from the players and seems to be building a great relationship with the team and everyone involved. He has been using some interesting methods to bring the team closer, as stated by Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz in a recent episode of The Christian Kuntz Podcast.
Kuntz said that McCarthy brought in a team of Navy SEALs to speak to the entire roster and share stories about how trusting each other and performing as a team is crucial.
"Coach McCarthy brought in this team of Navy SEALs. They talked to us about how to perform and communicate in these high-pressure situations," Kuntz explained. "Basically building up trust and how to perform as a team. We are doing a bunch of exercises like that. We met with those guys for like two hours. They told stories and it was just a cool moment."
This seems like a very odd exercise, but one that makes sense. NFL football is a dangerous battlefield, where players put their bodies on the line for the team. Guys need to trust each other, and what better way to provide an example of this than bringing in some true American heroes.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike McCarthy during 2026 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
McCarthy has surely had an explosive entrance in Pittsburgh and the team is seeing this. The Steelers organization obviously has a lot of trust in him, as his hiring came just 11 days after Mike Tomlin announced that he was stepping down.
The Steelers Need To Find Playoff Success Immediately
Pittsburgh has not won a playoff game since the 2016 season, making it almost a decade since the team last saw postseason success. Some of the big name players within the organization are not getting any younger. Rodgers is presumed to be retiring after the 2026 NFL season and star defenders TJ Watt and Cameron Heyward seem to be reaching the end of their time in the Black and Gold. There are a plethora of other veterans on the team, all of whom want and deserve to find success before it is too late. The hope is that McCarthy can spark some magic within this team, especially on the offensive side of the ball where he will be calling the plays.
The organization is going to have to start the daunting process of rebuilding in the next couple of years and this will most likely happen without the majority of the current leaders in Pittsburgh. The hope is that McCarthy can give this team one last chance at glory before the new era of Steelers football inevitably begins.
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