Until word broke early Saturday afternoon that Greenfield’s Mike McCarthy had agreed to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ next coach, many from the outside assumed the team would take the route it has for decades in selecting its next leader.
A young, defensive-oriented assistant who’d never been a head coach before.
That the 62-year-old McCarthy — former coach of the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys — was the choice was surprising. But what might have raised even more eyebrows was the Steelers didn’t bother even sitting down with young Los Angeles Rams assistants Chris Shula and Nathan Scheelhaase.
No need, Steelers president Art Rooney II said. He knew the team had found its man.
“I won’t say it was an easy decision,” Rooney said during Tuesday’s news conference at Acrisure Stadium, “but I would say at the end of the day it was an obvious decision for us that Mike was the guy for the job.”
The Steelers staged virtual teleconference-style interviews with seven candidates within the three days after Mike Tomlin stepped down Jan. 13. Only one of those seven was given an in-person interview: former Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.
Weaver joined Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and McCarthy as the only candidates who sat down in person with Rooney, general manager Omar Khan and others who made the call on the Steelers’ fourth coach since 1969.
“Really an awesome group of candidates,” Khan said. “I think Mike’s resume speaks for itself. I learned a lot through the process, but we’re excited Mike McCarthy is the head coach.”
Greenfield native Mike McCarthy gets emotional when introduced as the Steelers head coach pic.twitter.com/ZAMCa5LKft
— Chris Harlan (@CHarlan_Trib) January 27, 2026
While in-person chats with Jesse Minter, Klint Kubiak, Ejiro Evero and Jeff Hafley never materialized last week — Minter and Hafley, in part, perhaps because they took other head coach gigs — the Steelers were barred from talking in person with Shula and Scheelhaase.
That’s because the Rams were alive in the postseason, advancing to Sunday’s NFC Championship game. (Los Angeles lost to the Seattle Seahawks.)
The school of thought across the industry was the 39-year-old Shula and 35-year-old Scheelhaase were among the favorites to get the Steelers’ gig, and the Steelers would wait on any decision before at least sitting down with either or both of the two young Rams assistants.
Not so. Within hours of completing the league-minimum requirements for interviews to satisfy the Rooney Rule — and 48 hours before they could have talked in person with Shula and/or Scheelhaase — the Steelers offered the job to McCarthy, a longtime widely respected offensive mind.
“We came into this wanting to hire the best coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Rooney said. “We did not say, ‘We’re trying to hire a young defensive coordinator,’ or offensive guy. We had an open mind about it, and really we just wanted to make sure we found the best coach.”
