The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Mike McCarthy as their 17th head coach after Mike Tomlin, who had held the title since 2007, stepped down in January. A significant subset of Steelers fans were disappointed that the franchise didn’t commit to a full-on rebuild by hiring a young, up-and-coming coach. Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb thinks those people should cheer up.
Ross Tucker recently asked Lamb what Steelers fans are getting in McCarthy, and Lamb immediately beamed. “Oh, my God, a great guy,” Lamb said. “He loves Pittsburgh. That’s my mans. I love Mike. I love Mike. Coach McCarthy, he’s obviously — for those who don’t know, he’s my only coach that I’ve had besides Schotty.”
Lamb continued:
“But just coming in, he’s a great time. As soon as you walk in the building, you’re gonna feel his energy, and you’re gonna feel what he wants to do. He wants to go vertical with the ball. I’m gonna tell you that right now. But he’s gonna do everything.
He’s gonna tailor his offense and get things situated, but he’s Pittsburgh down. Everything that he’s done has been out of love, man. Again, that’s another guy that I feel like I would run through a wall for. Mike did a great job of really just developing me my first five years in the league.”
McCarthy was the Cowboys’ head coach from 2020 through 2024. Dallas went 49-35 in the regular season over five seasons under McCarthy, including three straight 12-win seasons from 2021-23.
The issue, as has been the story in Dallas since the mid-1990s, was the playoffs. McCarthy’s Cowboys lost in the NFC Wild Card twice and the NFC Divisional round once. Dallas has not been in the playoffs since the 2023 season. In McCarthy’s lame duck year in 2024, Dallas went 7-10 and missed the playoffs. Dallas hired Brian Schottenheimer in January 2025 and went 7-9-1 last season.
Before Dallas, McCarthy was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers for 13 seasons. He and quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to a Super Bowl victory over the Steelers in February 2011. McCarthy is a Pittsburgh native, so his third act is poetic at the outset.
“Oftentimes, coaches and players put on new team colors, and it takes a minute to feel comfortable in them,” McCarthy said after being formally introduced by the Steelers. “But, if you are blessed beyond measure, one day you put on the colors you’ve worn since you were brought home from Mercy Hospital.”
Fans, of course, might not feel so romantic about it depending on how 2026 goes. The Steelers have not finished below .500 since 2003, and McCarthy is 174-112-2 in the regular season all-time as an NFL head coach. As counterintuitive as it sounds, Pittsburgh might feel worse about another .500 season that doesn’t result in a playoff win.