As he was introduced as the Pittsburgh Steelers ' fourth head coach since 1969, Mike McCarthy wore his emotions on his sleeve. The Steel City native got choked up while he tried to speak about what the opportunity means to him.
"Oftentimes, coaches and players, you put on new team colors, and it takes a minute to feel comfortable in those new colors," McCarthy said Tuesday. "But to be blessed beyond any measure one day to put on the colors you wore since you (were) brought home … I understand and embrace the responsibility, the privilege and the weight that comes with this stewardship.
"This city, this franchise, this fanbase means the world to me because Pittsburgh's my world, and it's just awesome to be back here."
As McCarthy had to fight away tears, it was the sort of affection for the black and gold that can win over Steelers fans. Former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho isn't buying it, though, marking the display as more theatrical than heartwarming.
"Mike McCarthy, stop all your crying," Acho said Tuesday night on "Speakeasy." "Stop all your crying. And not because it's not emotional, because I'm old enough to have watched Mike McCarthy's (introductory) Cowboys presser. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you. Stop all your crying, because at your Cowboys presser (you were like), 'I sat the whole year off. I was in the basement. I was watching film. Nothing but tape. Nothing but tape, man. Nothing but tape.'
"And then you showed up, you got that job and you told us how that was all a farce. And then, with the Cowboys, for what they thought you were gonna do, you underachieved. Stop all that crying."
McCarthy went 49-35 in the regular season during his five seasons as the Dallas Cowboys' leader (2020-24). He went 1-3 in the postseason during that same stretch and didn't advance past the divisional round.
"Don't stop all that crying because I'm trying to be curt, be rude, be inhumane," Acho said. "No, it's just like, 'Go win some games. Go do the job.' McCarthy, you're a phenomenal actor – a phenomenal actor. And you deceived everybody at that Cowboys press conference.
"So y'all can know, 'Acho, why you being so harsh?' If you remember the Mike McCarthy Cowboy presser, you're not finna fool me with all these tears."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Ex-NFL Player Bashes Mike McCarthy After Steelers Intro: 'Stop All That Crying'
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