Mike McCarthy, recently named the 17th head coach in Pittsburgh Steelers history, emphasized both offense and defense during his introductory press conference at Acrisure Stadium. While known for his offensive expertise, McCarthy highlighted the importance of a strong defense to team success.
“Defense wins championships,” McCarthy said.
The Steelers’ announcement of McCarthy as Mike Tomlin’s successor described him as a “renowned developer of quarterbacks, including Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Rich Gannon, Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott.” McCarthy credited this reputation to working with talented quarterbacks and mentorship from Paul Hackett during his time at the University of Pittsburgh from 1989-92.
“Finding time, being efficient with your workload capacity and making sure those guys get the fundamental training,” he explained. “So just never really deviating from the old-school way. And it has worked for decades.”
McCarthy expressed enthusiasm about leading the Steelers’ defense. He acknowledged outside linebacker Alex Highsmith at the event and noted the significance of maintaining continuity with the team’s traditional defensive scheme.
“I’m really excited about the defense, great seeing Alex here,” McCarthy said. “The history of the Steelers defense and staying with the 3-4 is important as far as the origin of it, and that’s something we can build off.”
Reflecting on his coaching career, he added: “I’ve been a head coach 18 years, I’ve had one Top 5 defense, and we won a Super Bowl that year. The importance of defense is critical.” In 2010 with Green Bay, when his team ranked second in total NFL defense, they defeated Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.
“We definitely want to build off what’s in place here,” McCarthy stated. “With this being the third organization that I’ve walked into the first day, I don’t believe in the throw-out-the-baby-with-the-bath-water method. I believe in building off what’s in place and there’s a lot here in place.”
He discussed maintaining consistency within Pittsburgh’s defensive system: “The defensive system has been here since 1992. It came here with Coach Cowher (head coach Bill) and (defensive coordinator) Dom Capers. I’ve always been a fan of it. I always thought it was the toughest one to compete against as an offensive coach, part of the reason I went to it in Green Bay.”
McCarthy said staff decisions are ongoing but intends to keep much of existing terminology: “We’re putting the staff together but ideally we want to keep the language the same. Those are big decisions when you come in here because when you have something that works…I think you should try to do everything you can to build off that if possible.”
On offense—the area where he is most recognized—McCarthy confirmed he will be calling plays for Pittsburgh but declined to put a label on his approach.
“I’m a believer in the tradition of the West Coast offense,” he said. “And…the offense needs to be built to make the quarterback successful…that starts with running the football.” He stressed tailoring protection schemes around an effective run game and developing athletic quarterbacks capable of extending plays.
“But at the end of the day I would never say we run the West Coast offense,” McCarthy continued. He explained that flexibility is key: “If your system…cannot take in every player that (General Manager) Omar (Khan) and (Steelers president) Art (Rooney II) want to bring…then you need to take a look at your system.”
