Growing up in Greenfield, Mike McCarthy respects the Steelers franchise in ways most head coaches can't. He also knows Mike Tomlin had a certain way of doing things over the previous 19 seasons.
However, I've gotten the impression from the very beginning that McCarthy wasn't interested in trying to replicate much of what Tomlin did. And after observing three weeks of OTAs and one week of mandatory minicamp, it's almost like covering a completely different football team.
Just from an observation standpoint, the drills the players go through are different -- even for Tom Arth and Scott McCurley, who were the only two coaches retained from Tomlin's 2025 staff.
Of course, lots of attention has been on Arth and the quarterbacks over the past four weeks. But the drills are different. Several new drills included a huge throwing net with three different windows stitched into it -- red, blue and yellow. One drill this week had Will Howard and Drew Allar rolling out and making throws on the run, with Arth calling out which color window to aim for right before they were supposed to throw. And Arth kept score to make it more competitive.
They've also used the throwing net -- which stands at least 10 feet tall -- as an obstacle. During Thursday's OTA, Arth had Howard and Allar throw to one of the other coaches standing several yards behind the net, forcing them to work on layered throws down the middle of the field.
The new coaches have brought their own style to coaching their players. Personally, it's been a lot of fun to watch C.J. Ah You and Domata Peko working with the outside linebackers and defensive linemen, respectively. Outside of their own new drills, both coaches are much more hands-on than their predecessors. And by the level of energy they bring to each drill, you can tell both Ah You and Peko have played in the NFL within the last 15 years, not just in how they teach but in the ... vernacular they use.
Of course, it's one thing for me to observe these changes. It's something else entirely for these players to give feedback on them and, boy, there's been feedback. A lot has been said on the record by the likes of T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig, Cam Heyward, Patrick Queen and others about the amount of change they've witnessed. The feedback I've received from players away from any microphone or recorder rings just as true. These guys are embracing it.
At the same time, the change isn't easy, either. Not only does McCarthy have the players on a very strict schedule on a daily basis, but he has the entire complex on a stricter schedule. That includes the coaching staff, team employees and even the media windows. One player told me there are strict rules prohibiting players from speaking to the media during practice, even in one-word friendly banter, and that the whole operation is almost like a "boot camp."
When a full Acrisure Stadium chanted for Tomlin to be fired last season, it was the loudest the fan base has ever been about wanting change. Well, McCarthy has definitely brought change. We just need another few months to see if it results in an improvement in the win column.
MORE STEELERS
• The changes aren't stopping at OTAs and minicamp. Training camp days will look different, too. Practice is starting at 11 a.m. most days, which is when the team will practice during the season. This is intentional by McCarthy. And, just as the daily schedule has been different on the South Side for the players, their schedule before and after practice at training camp will also be different -- when they eat lunch, have team meetings, even what time they are supposed to arrive on July 28 (much earlier in the day than it was under Tomlin). -- By Chris Halicke in Pittsburgh
• Nothing new on contract extensions for Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton or Spencer Anderson. I have it on very good authority that Omar Khan wants to get Porter's deal done before players report to Saint Vincent College on July 28 for training camp. But, these deals that are priced near the top of the market are never easy to work out. -- Chris Halicke
• As I reported back in March, McCarthy plans to be in contact with the personal quarterback coaches for Howard and Allar over the summer. Both Howard and Allar will be working diligently over the next several weeks, but included in that work will be drills and language aligned with what the Steelers are teaching their quarterbacks. This is important to McCarthy, especially since the days of running his full QB school are over (thanks to the restrictions between players and coaches set in place in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement). -- Chris Halicke
• While I can't get into the specific details on what's going on with Roman Wilson, I can definitively say that there's little cause for concern. It's just something to monitor when the first training camp practice take place on July 29. If I were a betting man, I'd expect him to be out there on Chuck Noll Field, trying to beat out Germie Bernard for the third spot on the depth chart. -- Chris Halicke
PIRATES
• SpencerHorwitz takes pride in how far he’s come with his defense at first base. He’s earned the trust of his manager and coaches to be an everyday contributor over there, but that wasn’t always the case.
“If you look at my debut, it was as a DH, and I think that was because they didn't trust me on the defensive side of the ball,” Horwitz said, referring to his time with the Blue Jays. “I remember I had another conversation the following year about how my defense was holding me back from the big leagues, and that was really frustrating to hear. I always thought I could hit my way to the big leagues, and I think I did, but I think something that helps stick in the big leagues is once you prove that you can hit, then the defense is a must with it.”
Horwitz has received plenty of internal praise for the work he’s done to become a better all-around player. He’s already done it on the offensive side by producing quality at-bats on a consistent level and being able to add some slug with nine home runs over 62 games. But he’s also evolved defensively, too. At one point, before a recent stretch dropped the number down by two, Horwitz was among the top first basemen in Major League Baseball with three Defensive Runs Saved.
“I’ve talked about it on the hitting side in terms of being able to take my walks, being able to slug and being able to hit for average, and I think it's the same way on defense,” Horwitz said. “It's just being that complete player. You try not to have a hole in your game, so to speak. It’s easy to think about offense as like, 'oh, I need to work on this or this,' and defense is kind of lumped in as a whole, but it's just kind of breaking it down into different parts." -- José Negron in Pittsburgh
• While external additions would certainly help solve issues within the Pirates bullpen, there do seem to be some options that still exist internally. Recalling IsaacMattson certainly makes sense as a logical next step, especially since he’s put together some better results down with Class AAA Indianapolis, allowing just two runs over 9 2/3 innings. He has allowed eight hits and walked six batters, but he’s struck out 11 and has proven to be a reliable major-league reliever, compiling a 2.45 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over 44 appearances with the Pirates last season.
Rafael Flores Jr. worked with Mattson during his brief big-league stint last year, during spring training this year and down with Indy over the last three weeks. Flores said Mattson has been working on his changeup a little bit, while also relying on his two bread-and-butter pitches in his fastball and slider. He sees him as a guy who can still contribute at a high level in the majors.
“I think him being down there, he didn't change at all,” Flores said. “It's tough going down, going up. Like it's all part of the game, and he didn't change at all. So that's a great sign of who he is as a person and his personality.” -- José Negron
• I mentioned AntwoneKelly, the Pirates' No. 7-ranked prospect who will join the team here in Pittsburgh ahead of this weekend's series against the Marlins, to Flores and he immediately lit up with a smile before saying, “He’s a dog.” Flores acknowledged the upper-90s velocity that Kelly throws with and the work ethic he possesses. He said Kelly is young and he’s got a lot to learn, but the talent is there. He's shown that over the course of his minor-league career, including last year when he produced a 3.02 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while limiting hitters to a .208 average over 25 starts between high Class A Greensboro and Class AA Altoona. -- José Negron
PENGUINS
• Last week I mentioned that the Penguins' affiliation agreement with the Nailers is up this summer, and it was believed that the Blues' affiliation agreement was up with the Florida Everblades, the ECHL team owned by the Hoffmann group. I've confirmed that the Blues-Everblades agreement is indeed up this summer, and have some additional notes on the matter. First, I've got to stress again that nothing's been set, the sale of the Penguins to the Hoffmann group hasn't even been finalized. -- Taylor Haase
• The Blues won't be renewing their agreement with the Everblades. The Blues will be affiliated with the Worcester Railers, a move that should be announced later this month. Worcester was previously the Islanders' affiliate. So, the Hoffmann family's Everblades will be getting a new NHL affiliate regardless. They would prefer that it be the Penguins. -- Taylor Haase
• There are some staffing issues if the Penguins were to switch affiliates. Nailers head coach Ryan Papaioannou and assistant coach Evan McFeeters are employed by Pittsburgh, they work for the Penguins. But the Florida Everblades' head coach, Brad Ralph, is employed by the Everblades themselves and has been there since 2016, so it wouldn't be as simple as just moving the staff the Penguins already employ to Florida. -- Taylor Haase
• That being said, there have already been internal talks on how to handle that in the event the Penguins do switch affiliates, which would likely just be shifting Papaioannou and McFeeters to other roles. Again, nothing's a done deal, everyone's just preparing for possibilities. -- Taylor Haase
• Not a whole lot to report as far as extension talks. Busy times between the World Championship, the scouting combine and the remainder of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's run. It's only June 12. Still plenty of time. -- Taylor Haase
THE ASYLUM
Friday Insider: McCarthy's brought change ... Horwitz's defensive growth ... Latest affiliation news
Growing up in Greenfield, Mike McCarthy respects the Steelers franchise in ways most head coaches can't. He also knows Mike Tomlin had a certain way of doing things over the previous 19 seasons.
However, I've gotten the impression from the very beginning that McCarthy wasn't interested in trying to replicate much of what Tomlin did. And after observing three weeks of OTAs and one week of mandatory minicamp, it's almost like covering a completely different football team.
Just from an observation standpoint, the drills the players go through are different -- even for Tom Arth and Scott McCurley, who were the only two coaches retained from Tomlin's 2025 staff.
Of course, lots of attention has been on Arth and the quarterbacks over the past four weeks. But the drills are different. Several new drills included a huge throwing net with three different windows stitched into it -- red, blue and yellow. One drill this week had Will Howard and Drew Allar rolling out and making throws on the run, with Arth calling out which color window to aim for right before they were supposed to throw. And Arth kept score to make it more competitive.
They've also used the throwing net -- which stands at least 10 feet tall -- as an obstacle. During Thursday's OTA, Arth had Howard and Allar throw to one of the other coaches standing several yards behind the net, forcing them to work on layered throws down the middle of the field.
The new coaches have brought their own style to coaching their players. Personally, it's been a lot of fun to watch C.J. Ah You and Domata Peko working with the outside linebackers and defensive linemen, respectively. Outside of their own new drills, both coaches are much more hands-on than their predecessors. And by the level of energy they bring to each drill, you can tell both Ah You and Peko have played in the NFL within the last 15 years, not just in how they teach but in the ... vernacular they use.
Of course, it's one thing for me to observe these changes. It's something else entirely for these players to give feedback on them and, boy, there's been feedback. A lot has been said on the record by the likes of T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig, Cam Heyward, Patrick Queen and others about the amount of change they've witnessed. The feedback I've received from players away from any microphone or recorder rings just as true. These guys are embracing it.
At the same time, the change isn't easy, either. Not only does McCarthy have the players on a very strict schedule on a daily basis, but he has the entire complex on a stricter schedule. That includes the coaching staff, team employees and even the media windows. One player told me there are strict rules prohibiting players from speaking to the media during practice, even in one-word friendly banter, and that the whole operation is almost like a "boot camp."
When a full Acrisure Stadium chanted for Tomlin to be fired last season, it was the loudest the fan base has ever been about wanting change. Well, McCarthy has definitely brought change. We just need another few months to see if it results in an improvement in the win column.
MORE STEELERS
• The changes aren't stopping at OTAs and minicamp. Training camp days will look different, too. Practice is starting at 11 a.m. most days, which is when the team will practice during the season. This is intentional by McCarthy. And, just as the daily schedule has been different on the South Side for the players, their schedule before and after practice at training camp will also be different -- when they eat lunch, have team meetings, even what time they are supposed to arrive on July 28 (much earlier in the day than it was under Tomlin). -- By Chris Halicke in Pittsburgh
• Nothing new on contract extensions for Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton or Spencer Anderson. I have it on very good authority that Omar Khan wants to get Porter's deal done before players report to Saint Vincent College on July 28 for training camp. But, these deals that are priced near the top of the market are never easy to work out. -- Chris Halicke
• As I reported back in March, McCarthy plans to be in contact with the personal quarterback coaches for Howard and Allar over the summer. Both Howard and Allar will be working diligently over the next several weeks, but included in that work will be drills and language aligned with what the Steelers are teaching their quarterbacks. This is important to McCarthy, especially since the days of running his full QB school are over (thanks to the restrictions between players and coaches set in place in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement). -- Chris Halicke
• While I can't get into the specific details on what's going on with Roman Wilson, I can definitively say that there's little cause for concern. It's just something to monitor when the first training camp practice take place on July 29. If I were a betting man, I'd expect him to be out there on Chuck Noll Field, trying to beat out Germie Bernard for the third spot on the depth chart. -- Chris Halicke
PIRATES
• Spencer Horwitz takes pride in how far he’s come with his defense at first base. He’s earned the trust of his manager and coaches to be an everyday contributor over there, but that wasn’t always the case.
“If you look at my debut, it was as a DH, and I think that was because they didn't trust me on the defensive side of the ball,” Horwitz said, referring to his time with the Blue Jays. “I remember I had another conversation the following year about how my defense was holding me back from the big leagues, and that was really frustrating to hear. I always thought I could hit my way to the big leagues, and I think I did, but I think something that helps stick in the big leagues is once you prove that you can hit, then the defense is a must with it.”
Horwitz has received plenty of internal praise for the work he’s done to become a better all-around player. He’s already done it on the offensive side by producing quality at-bats on a consistent level and being able to add some slug with nine home runs over 62 games. But he’s also evolved defensively, too. At one point, before a recent stretch dropped the number down by two, Horwitz was among the top first basemen in Major League Baseball with three Defensive Runs Saved.
“I’ve talked about it on the hitting side in terms of being able to take my walks, being able to slug and being able to hit for average, and I think it's the same way on defense,” Horwitz said. “It's just being that complete player. You try not to have a hole in your game, so to speak. It’s easy to think about offense as like, 'oh, I need to work on this or this,' and defense is kind of lumped in as a whole, but it's just kind of breaking it down into different parts." -- José Negron in Pittsburgh
• While external additions would certainly help solve issues within the Pirates bullpen, there do seem to be some options that still exist internally. Recalling Isaac Mattson certainly makes sense as a logical next step, especially since he’s put together some better results down with Class AAA Indianapolis, allowing just two runs over 9 2/3 innings. He has allowed eight hits and walked six batters, but he’s struck out 11 and has proven to be a reliable major-league reliever, compiling a 2.45 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over 44 appearances with the Pirates last season.
Rafael Flores Jr. worked with Mattson during his brief big-league stint last year, during spring training this year and down with Indy over the last three weeks. Flores said Mattson has been working on his changeup a little bit, while also relying on his two bread-and-butter pitches in his fastball and slider. He sees him as a guy who can still contribute at a high level in the majors.
“I think him being down there, he didn't change at all,” Flores said. “It's tough going down, going up. Like it's all part of the game, and he didn't change at all. So that's a great sign of who he is as a person and his personality.” -- José Negron
• I mentioned Antwone Kelly, the Pirates' No. 7-ranked prospect who will join the team here in Pittsburgh ahead of this weekend's series against the Marlins, to Flores and he immediately lit up with a smile before saying, “He’s a dog.” Flores acknowledged the upper-90s velocity that Kelly throws with and the work ethic he possesses. He said Kelly is young and he’s got a lot to learn, but the talent is there. He's shown that over the course of his minor-league career, including last year when he produced a 3.02 ERA and 1.06 WHIP while limiting hitters to a .208 average over 25 starts between high Class A Greensboro and Class AA Altoona. -- José Negron
PENGUINS
• Last week I mentioned that the Penguins' affiliation agreement with the Nailers is up this summer, and it was believed that the Blues' affiliation agreement was up with the Florida Everblades, the ECHL team owned by the Hoffmann group. I've confirmed that the Blues-Everblades agreement is indeed up this summer, and have some additional notes on the matter. First, I've got to stress again that nothing's been set, the sale of the Penguins to the Hoffmann group hasn't even been finalized. -- Taylor Haase
• The Blues won't be renewing their agreement with the Everblades. The Blues will be affiliated with the Worcester Railers, a move that should be announced later this month. Worcester was previously the Islanders' affiliate. So, the Hoffmann family's Everblades will be getting a new NHL affiliate regardless. They would prefer that it be the Penguins. -- Taylor Haase
• There are some staffing issues if the Penguins were to switch affiliates. Nailers head coach Ryan Papaioannou and assistant coach Evan McFeeters are employed by Pittsburgh, they work for the Penguins. But the Florida Everblades' head coach, Brad Ralph, is employed by the Everblades themselves and has been there since 2016, so it wouldn't be as simple as just moving the staff the Penguins already employ to Florida. -- Taylor Haase
• That being said, there have already been internal talks on how to handle that in the event the Penguins do switch affiliates, which would likely just be shifting Papaioannou and McFeeters to other roles. Again, nothing's a done deal, everyone's just preparing for possibilities. -- Taylor Haase
• Not a whole lot to report as far as extension talks. Busy times between the World Championship, the scouting combine and the remainder of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's run. It's only June 12. Still plenty of time. -- Taylor Haase
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits!
We’d love to have you!