After a process that included just three in-person interviews, Mike McCarthy is now officially the 17th head coach in Steelers history. Both Art Rooney II and Omar Khan spent 30 minutes Tuesday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium introducing their new head coach, and all three answered questions regarding the direction of a franchise that's currently in a nine-year run with zero playoff wins.
That's not the standard in Pittsburgh. In front of the media, a couple dozen members of his family and both current and former players, McCarthy spoke of bringing a seventh Lombardi Trophy to Pittsburgh.
While winning games and competing for Super Bowls is McCarthy's primary task, finding the next franchise quarterback among the top priorities, as well.
"With everybody we talked to, the conversation of developing the next young quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers was part of it," Khan said Tuesday. "I think Mike's resumé speaks for itself, who he's been around."
McCarthy's been around one quarterback more than any other, and it just so happens to be the guy who started at quarterback for the Steelers in 2025. While there's no guarantee he'll return for a 22nd NFL season in which he'll turn 43 years old, Aaron Rodgers could very well be the first starting quarterback of the McCarthy era.
"Definitely, I don't see why you wouldn't (bring him back)," McCarthy said Tuesday. "But just like anything, knowing Aaron long enough, going through seasons, I think when players, to see Mel Blount here, when guys are up there at that stage of their career, they need to step away and decompress."
Whether Rodgers returns to Pittsburgh or not, McCarthy isn't being short-sighted. While he clearly believes Rodgers can help them win games in 2026, he's not a long-term solution.
The Steelers are a franchise known for several things. A tough, blue-collar work ethic has long been part of that identity. Having a great defense is another cornerstone, starting with the Steel Curtain and the great defenses that produced four Super Bowls in six years during the 1970s. Even for the franchise's other two Super Bowls, the Steelers ranked No. 4 in total defense in 2005 and had the league's best defense in nearly every statistic in its most recent Super Bowl victory in the 2008 season.
But one thing that's also coincided with all six Super Bowl victories, and it's no accident: Having a franchise quarterback. Terry Bradshaw was the signal caller for all four Super Bowls in the 1970s, winning MVP in Super Bowls XIII and XIV. Ben Roethlisberger was the final missing piece to Bill Cowher's never-ending search for the franchise's fifth Super Bowl. After years of falling short, including three losses in the AFC Championship Game, Roethlisberger's addition immediately produced a franchise-best 15-1 season in 2004 then climbing to the top of the mountain in 2005. Roethlisberger continued on his future first-ballot Hall of Fame career under Mike Tomlin, delivering a then record sixth Super Bowl victory in 2008, engineering a game-winning drive in Super Bowl XLIII.
Throughout the history of the game, having a franchise quarterback has been a borderline requirement to truly compete for a Super Bowl. Of the 59 Super Bowl-winning teams, 28 of them had a quarterback that's already been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (47.5%). If you include Roethlisberger, Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees -- all of whom are surefire first-ballot Hall of Famers once eligible -- that number increases to 39 (66.1%). That's not even counting Patrick Mahomes, who's won three Super Bowls and will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in his own right, or Eli Manning, Russell Wilson or Matthew Stafford, all of whom will earn their own Hall of Fame consideration, as well. If you were to include those four, that would bring the number of Super Bowl winning teams with a Hall of Fame or borderline Hall of Fame quarterback to 46. That's a remarkable and overwhelming 78 percent.
The bottom line: Unless you have an elite/all-time great defense, you need a franchise quarterback to have a legitimate chance to compete for a Super Bowl.
McCarthy's record as a coach goes back quite a long way, and it includes work with both younger and veteran quarterbacks. He worked with Joe Montana at the tail end of his Hall of Fame career with the Chiefs. He worked with Brett Favre, both as a quarterbacks coach in 1999 and as head coach in 2006-07. McCarthy was Rodgers' head coach for 13 seasons, which produced two of his four MVP seasons and the Packers' most recent Super Bowl victory in the 2010 season. He also worked for five seasons in Dallas with Dak Prescott, which included Prescott's best season in 2023 when he finished runner up to Lamar Jackson for NFL MVP.
The development part here is key. Whether it's a first overall pick, late-rounder or undrafted free agent, nobody's a finished product. Perhaps the greatest example from McCarthy's record is Rodgers sitting behind Favre for three years, two of which with McCarthy as head coach. Whether Rodgers is the starter in 2026 or it's somebody else, everyone in the room has a chance to grow and develop.
"I think you're always developing the quarterback," McCarthy said. "I've been blessed to have great starters, particularly the last one Dak Prescott and Aaron and Brett in Green Bay, but we've always approached it as the quarterback room because that second quarterback, third quarterback, they need to emulate the starter because that starter is dictating the rhythm and time and precision with the perimeter guys."
The Steelers have needed a long-term answer at quarterback ever since Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season. They tried to immediately replace him by selecting Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but two seasons with him at the helm clearly showed he wasn't the answer. Over the past two seasons, the Steelers have gone the veteran route by bringing on Wilson in 2024 and Rodgers in 2025. Both produced 10-7 seasons and very familiar first-round exits in the playoffs.
Even if Rodgers returns, he's not the long-term answer. There are a few options this offseason, but the quarterback tree is quite bare this spring. Malik Willis is perhaps the most attractive name in free agency. Mac Jones and Kyler Murray are two potential trade candidates. The draft class is pretty uninspiring, but could still be worth a swing in the middle rounds.
Or, just maybe, Will Howard could be the guy. Both McCarthy and Khan unsolicitedly mentioned him by name during Tuesday's press conference.
"I'm real excited about Will Howard," McCarthy said. "I think he's someone that I thought really came on there at Ohio State. I'm anxious to work with him. It'd be great to have Aaron back, but Will and Mason [Rudolph], I'm really excited to get started with those guys."
Howard has a lot to prove. While he was a national champion with Ohio State in 2024, he had a great cast around him and didn't get much of a chance to prove he can do a lot of the necessary processes required of an NFL quarterback. Should the Steelers ride with him, it'll be because McCarthy believes he and the staff he hires can develop him.
Regardless of how it's addressed, quarterback will remain a top priority for this franchise. Khan has been open about that since long before today's press conference. As Khan said Tuesday, it was part of every conversation during the search for a new head coach. It's because he knows that you need that franchise-level quarterback to get to where the Steelers want to be: Competing for a chance to add a seventh Lombardi to the trophy case.
And for McCarthy, the guy who grew up in Greenfield, it'd be even more special if he can be the guy that gets it done.
"My heart is full. My focus is singular," McCarthy said. "It's time to bring another championship back to this great city."
THE ASYLUM
McCarthy's quarterback plan goes beyond Rodgers
After a process that included just three in-person interviews, Mike McCarthy is now officially the 17th head coach in Steelers history. Both Art Rooney II and Omar Khan spent 30 minutes Tuesday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium introducing their new head coach, and all three answered questions regarding the direction of a franchise that's currently in a nine-year run with zero playoff wins.
That's not the standard in Pittsburgh. In front of the media, a couple dozen members of his family and both current and former players, McCarthy spoke of bringing a seventh Lombardi Trophy to Pittsburgh.
While winning games and competing for Super Bowls is McCarthy's primary task, finding the next franchise quarterback among the top priorities, as well.
"With everybody we talked to, the conversation of developing the next young quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers was part of it," Khan said Tuesday. "I think Mike's resumé speaks for itself, who he's been around."
McCarthy's been around one quarterback more than any other, and it just so happens to be the guy who started at quarterback for the Steelers in 2025. While there's no guarantee he'll return for a 22nd NFL season in which he'll turn 43 years old, Aaron Rodgers could very well be the first starting quarterback of the McCarthy era.
"Definitely, I don't see why you wouldn't (bring him back)," McCarthy said Tuesday. "But just like anything, knowing Aaron long enough, going through seasons, I think when players, to see Mel Blount here, when guys are up there at that stage of their career, they need to step away and decompress."
Whether Rodgers returns to Pittsburgh or not, McCarthy isn't being short-sighted. While he clearly believes Rodgers can help them win games in 2026, he's not a long-term solution.
The Steelers are a franchise known for several things. A tough, blue-collar work ethic has long been part of that identity. Having a great defense is another cornerstone, starting with the Steel Curtain and the great defenses that produced four Super Bowls in six years during the 1970s. Even for the franchise's other two Super Bowls, the Steelers ranked No. 4 in total defense in 2005 and had the league's best defense in nearly every statistic in its most recent Super Bowl victory in the 2008 season.
But one thing that's also coincided with all six Super Bowl victories, and it's no accident: Having a franchise quarterback. Terry Bradshaw was the signal caller for all four Super Bowls in the 1970s, winning MVP in Super Bowls XIII and XIV. Ben Roethlisberger was the final missing piece to Bill Cowher's never-ending search for the franchise's fifth Super Bowl. After years of falling short, including three losses in the AFC Championship Game, Roethlisberger's addition immediately produced a franchise-best 15-1 season in 2004 then climbing to the top of the mountain in 2005. Roethlisberger continued on his future first-ballot Hall of Fame career under Mike Tomlin, delivering a then record sixth Super Bowl victory in 2008, engineering a game-winning drive in Super Bowl XLIII.
Throughout the history of the game, having a franchise quarterback has been a borderline requirement to truly compete for a Super Bowl. Of the 59 Super Bowl-winning teams, 28 of them had a quarterback that's already been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (47.5%). If you include Roethlisberger, Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees -- all of whom are surefire first-ballot Hall of Famers once eligible -- that number increases to 39 (66.1%). That's not even counting Patrick Mahomes, who's won three Super Bowls and will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in his own right, or Eli Manning, Russell Wilson or Matthew Stafford, all of whom will earn their own Hall of Fame consideration, as well. If you were to include those four, that would bring the number of Super Bowl winning teams with a Hall of Fame or borderline Hall of Fame quarterback to 46. That's a remarkable and overwhelming 78 percent.
The bottom line: Unless you have an elite/all-time great defense, you need a franchise quarterback to have a legitimate chance to compete for a Super Bowl.
McCarthy's record as a coach goes back quite a long way, and it includes work with both younger and veteran quarterbacks. He worked with Joe Montana at the tail end of his Hall of Fame career with the Chiefs. He worked with Brett Favre, both as a quarterbacks coach in 1999 and as head coach in 2006-07. McCarthy was Rodgers' head coach for 13 seasons, which produced two of his four MVP seasons and the Packers' most recent Super Bowl victory in the 2010 season. He also worked for five seasons in Dallas with Dak Prescott, which included Prescott's best season in 2023 when he finished runner up to Lamar Jackson for NFL MVP.
The development part here is key. Whether it's a first overall pick, late-rounder or undrafted free agent, nobody's a finished product. Perhaps the greatest example from McCarthy's record is Rodgers sitting behind Favre for three years, two of which with McCarthy as head coach. Whether Rodgers is the starter in 2026 or it's somebody else, everyone in the room has a chance to grow and develop.
"I think you're always developing the quarterback," McCarthy said. "I've been blessed to have great starters, particularly the last one Dak Prescott and Aaron and Brett in Green Bay, but we've always approached it as the quarterback room because that second quarterback, third quarterback, they need to emulate the starter because that starter is dictating the rhythm and time and precision with the perimeter guys."
The Steelers have needed a long-term answer at quarterback ever since Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season. They tried to immediately replace him by selecting Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but two seasons with him at the helm clearly showed he wasn't the answer. Over the past two seasons, the Steelers have gone the veteran route by bringing on Wilson in 2024 and Rodgers in 2025. Both produced 10-7 seasons and very familiar first-round exits in the playoffs.
Even if Rodgers returns, he's not the long-term answer. There are a few options this offseason, but the quarterback tree is quite bare this spring. Malik Willis is perhaps the most attractive name in free agency. Mac Jones and Kyler Murray are two potential trade candidates. The draft class is pretty uninspiring, but could still be worth a swing in the middle rounds.
Or, just maybe, Will Howard could be the guy. Both McCarthy and Khan unsolicitedly mentioned him by name during Tuesday's press conference.
"I'm real excited about Will Howard," McCarthy said. "I think he's someone that I thought really came on there at Ohio State. I'm anxious to work with him. It'd be great to have Aaron back, but Will and Mason [Rudolph], I'm really excited to get started with those guys."
Howard has a lot to prove. While he was a national champion with Ohio State in 2024, he had a great cast around him and didn't get much of a chance to prove he can do a lot of the necessary processes required of an NFL quarterback. Should the Steelers ride with him, it'll be because McCarthy believes he and the staff he hires can develop him.
Regardless of how it's addressed, quarterback will remain a top priority for this franchise. Khan has been open about that since long before today's press conference. As Khan said Tuesday, it was part of every conversation during the search for a new head coach. It's because he knows that you need that franchise-level quarterback to get to where the Steelers want to be: Competing for a chance to add a seventh Lombardi to the trophy case.
And for McCarthy, the guy who grew up in Greenfield, it'd be even more special if he can be the guy that gets it done.
"My heart is full. My focus is singular," McCarthy said. "It's time to bring another championship back to this great city."
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