Mike McCarthy is thrilled to be back in his hometown, leading his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers . Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson doesn't think the partnership will remain smooth sailing for long.
"I don't like the situation Mike McCarthy is in," Robinson said Wednesday on the "Inside Coverage" podcast. "And we could argue whether or not it's the worst or not, but I think you sit there and you go, 'OK, with McCarthy's age, definitely he's a win-now coaching hire.' We've talked about the fact that the roster's aging. We've talked about the fact that you're following Mike Tomlin, which, look, fans can) complain about Mike Tomlin all they want, but the second you fall on really hard times, I'm sure there are gonna be some fans who are really upset that Tomlin departs and now Mike McCarthy is left kinda trying to stitch it all back together."
The Steelers, as has been well-noted, never had a losing season under Tomlin, who resigned after winning the AFC North. The largest question that's been looming over Pittsburgh this offseason is whether Aaron Rodgers will decide to team up with his former Green Bay Packers head coach for another go-round in the Steel City.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy during his introductory press conference on Jan. 27, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
"They're expected to win games, they're expected to continue to get what they can — whatever gas they can get out of this aging roster," Robinson said. "They're expected to somehow make the quarterback situation work with Aaron Rodgers doing nothing but getting older — and he hasn't even committed at this point, that we know of. It's all bad, I think, for Mike McCarthy."
The sands of the hourglass are steadily pouring into the bottom half for stalwarts like Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt . The Steelers refuse to tear down. It will surely be interesting to see whether McCarthy can help them get over the hump.
"I wouldn't say the team's in a rut," McCarthy said last week, politely pushing back against a reporter's question. "The team won the division last year, so it's a playoff football team. I viewed the team that way as a fan last year. I was able to sit back, and I watched the Steelers, the Cowboys and the Packers. I tried to watch all three teams as a fan, just because of the connection with the three teams. I thought they had some really good moments."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Analyst: Trouble Brewing for Mike McCarthy with Steelers
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