The Pittsburgh Steelers had a Super Bowl-winning head coach in Mike Tomlin. But after 19 seasons on the job and zero playoff wins in the past nine seasons, he decided to resign last week.
Now the Steelers have the unenviable task of trying to replace a local coaching legend. A high standard has been set in Pittsburgh, and now it’s up to the next coach to clear it.
So it’s no surprise that the Steelers are working on trying to set up an interview with another former Super Bowl-winning head coach.
According to ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Steelers are “expected to speak” with former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. The 62-year-old head coach spent the 2025 season away from coaching after being surprisingly let go in Dallas at the end of the 2024 season.
However, there are a few factors working in McCarthy’s favor. First, he’s a Pittsburgh native. Second, he has worked with Steelers general manager Omar Khan when the two were both in New Orleans with the Saints in 2000.
The New York Giants and Tennessee Titans also registered some interest in hiring McCarthy. The Giants set an interview with him, but have since made John Harbaugh one of the NFL’s highest-paid coaches of all-time. Meanwhile, the Titans did actually interview McCarthy.
With nine NFL head coaching vacancies already shrinking down to seven, McCarthy’s opportunities to get a new NFL job are shrinking by the day.
Related: Aaron Rodgers Cried, Apologized in Mike Tomlin’s Steelers Goodbye Speech
