As an NFL head coach, Mike McCarthy’s greatest achievement came at the expense of his hometown Steelers, but 15 years later, the Pittsburgh native might get a chance to make amends.
McCarthy, 62, had an interview with the Steelers on Wednesday, establishing himself as a candidate to become the team’s next coach. He is the oldest and most experienced coach the Steelers have on their list, having led the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys for a combined 18 seasons.
It was with the Packers that McCarthy and his then-quarterback Aaron Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV over the Steelers. The Steelers haven’t reached a Super Bowl since, but neither has McCarthy, despite recently leading the Cowboys to three consecutive 12-win seasons.
McCarthy ranks 15th on the NFL’s all-time wins list with a 174-112-2 career record. He was the second candidate to receive an in-person interview with the Steelers, following Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores on Tuesday.
Along with his ties to the city as a Greenfield native, McCarthy has connections to the Steelers front office. Steelers general manager Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl worked for the New Orleans Saints when McCarthy was the offensive coordinator in the early 2000s.
The Steelers are expected to meet with Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver on Friday. Weaver was among the seven candidates who had virtual interviews last week.
More interviews are likely to follow.
In Green Bay, McCarthy’s teams won 125 games and qualified for the playoffs nine times in 13 seasons. He made four trips to the NFC Championship game and oversaw two of Rodgers’ four MVP seasons.
Rodgers also earned a Super Bowl MVP nod when he passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-25 victory over the Steelers in February 2011.
McCarthy coached the Packers for eight more seasons but was fired after Week 13 in 2018 when the Packers fell to 4-7-1 and ultimately missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Hired by Dallas in 2020, McCarthy went 49-35 in five seasons. He posted three consecutive 12-5 seasons in 2021-23 but couldn’t convert regular-season wins into postseason success. The Cowboys went 1-3 in the playoffs under McCarthy.
Still, his offenses often ranked among the league’s best. In 2021, the Cowboys led the league in points and yards behind quarterback Dak Prescott and were again the highest-scoring team in 2023.
But in 2024, McCarthy’s final season in Dallas, the team went 7-10 and missed the postseason as a hamstring injury limited Prescott to eight games. With McCarthy’s contract expiring, he and the team parted ways after the season.
His overall playoff record is 11-11.
As the Steelers coach, McCarthy could bring with him an offensive philosophy rooted in the West Coast scheme. The Cowboys ran a hybrid version dubbed in Dallas as the “Texas Coast” offense. In 2023, Prescott led the league in completions (410) and passing touchdowns (36) while finishing second in MVP voting to the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson.
Raised in a neighborhood bordered by Oakland, Squirrel Hill and Schenley Park, McCarthy is the candidate with the strongest ties to the city. He graduated from Bishop Boyle High School in Homestead and worked at the Greenfield bar once owned by his father.
A two-time all-conference tight end at Baker University, an NAIA school in Kansas, McCarthy landed graduate assistant roles at Fort Hays State and Pitt, where he later was hired as an assistant.
He broke into the NFL as a quality control assistant and later quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs under Marty Schottenheimer, a role that saw McCarthy work with future Hall of Famer Joe Montana.
He later worked as an offensive coordinator for the Saints from 2000-04 and the San Francisco 49ers for one season (2005) before being hired by the Packers as head coach.
Along with McCarthy and Flores, the Steelers talked last week with Weaver, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula and pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak, Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
The Dolphins hired Hafley on Monday.
Flores signed a contract extension with the Vikings on Wednesday, meaning he’ll stay in Minnesota if he doesn’t land a head coaching job.
