PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Troy Fautanu thinks Mike McCarthy 's offense is very similar to the offense he played under at Washington.
"The first thing that I thought of when they started talking about it is that it kind of reminded me of my offense in college. A lot of passing the ball," Fautanu said.
There's no doubt about it, McCarthy loves to employ 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) and throw the ball all over the field.
Fautanu is excited to play under an offensive-minded head coach again.
"He's awesome. Small sample size. Obviously, with OTAs. Really excited to get into the season and training camp with and really get to know him," Fautanu said. "He's got the Pittsburgh accent, he's got it all going. He loves the town. Obviously, I'm really excited that he's an offensive-minded coach. I had that in my career in college, so it's all been good. But my mindset with this whole thing is obviously, losing Coach T was rough, but change has never been bad for me."
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy and general manager Omar Khan speak at a press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex before the NFL Draft on Sunday, April 19, 2026 in Pittsburgh, PA. (Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers)
McCarthy is a quarterback whisper. He played a key part in the development of Aaron Rodgers . He's also worked with Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Montana and Brett Favre at the end of their careers.
Third-round pick Drew Allar and Will Howard are his new projects. McCarthy also has a track record of leading high-scoring offenses.
"One thing the Steelers have been known for is their defense. One thing about McCarthy is that he likes to have that blue-collar run game, but his quarterbacks always get better," former Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier recently said in an interview with Kyle Odegard of Casino Guru News . "He's a quarterback developer with a blue-collar feel on how to run his team. I think that's exactly what the Steelers need. We had that, and now to be able to add to the offensive side of the ball, I think it's going to be nice. It will be different than what people are used to because we had 20 years of Tomlin, but I think it's going to be nice to have someone new. I think he will do a great job here."
Steelers president Art Rooney II said McCarthy's proven track record and ability to develop quarterbacks were two key factors into why he hired him.
"He is someone who has a longer track record than many of the other candidates, a winning track record," Rooney said via Bob Labriola of Steelers.com in January. "He's been a winner everywhere he's been. Probably just as important for our purposes, the quarterbacks that he's worked with have all been very successful. So he has a proven track record of developing top flight quarterbacks. Those are the things that maybe stick out the most."
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Troy Fautanu Reveals First Impressions of Mike McCarthy's Offense
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