While many are skeptical of the Pittsburgh Steelers ' decision to hire Mike McCarthy , former Steelers defensive coordinator and Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau thinks the organization made the right move to hire the 62-year-old Greenfield native who has a long history of developing quarterbacks.
"I think he's an excellent coach. He's had a lot of good success, a lot of good experience," LeBeau said during an interview on the WMBS' George Von Benko on Saturday. "Most of coaching is your own personal experience and learning from your mistakes. Like it is for anybody that does any job. That first or second year you're on that job, you're probably not going to be as good at it as if you've been on it for 20 years. And I think that McCarthy certainly has the experience and the track record to know what to do."
LeBeau also thinks McCarthy is walking into a solid roster.
"I also think that the Steelers' roster is pretty strong," LeBeau said. "Like most NFL teams, a couple of players in the right area can make a whole lot of difference. I'm very optimistic for the Steelers. I think that we get a couple breaks and get a couple spots filled in there that can put us over the top. We'll be right back winning those playoff games this year."
Casey Hampton, Dick LeBeau, Willie Parker, and Jason Gildon pose for a photo as the newest members of the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor.Credit: Aaron Becker/Steelers Now
Steelers president Art Rooney II defended his decision to hire McCarthy. He's not concerned about the outside noise. He thinks McCarthy is the right coach to lead the team into a new era of Steelers football.
"We're really not worried about winning the initial press conference. It's about picking the coach we believe will help us win games," Rooney said, via Bob Labriola of Steelers.com on Sunday. "And social media really doesn't enter into it. And none of that will matter once we're starting to play games.
"The message for our fans is we're very excited. We think we have a coach who is well-equipped to lead us into the next winning phase of Steelers football, and that's what it's all about. I think they're going to love Coach Mike."
McCarthy certainly turned heads during his opening statement as the team's new head coach. Emotionally displaying how much he cares about Pittsburgh and the Steelers organization. The results will have to come on the field, but Steelers fans might now have a different opinion on McCarthy . One of the greatest players in franchise history is still not convinced, however.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers Legend Dick LeBeau Explains Why Mike McCarthy Was the Right Hire
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