Will Steelers be physical enough under McCarthy?
Mike Florio, Jason Garrett and Devin McCourty discuss Mike McCarthy's practices with the Pittsburgh Steelers and question if the team will have the edge they need in 2026.
Video Transcript
This would be more interesting if we had a fourth guy at the table in Mike Tomlin, 'cause we're gonna talk about the Steelers now.
First time in 20 years- Mm-hmm that they're going forward without Mike Tomlin as the head coach.
They were 10 and 7 last year, plus 5,000 Super Bowl odds, 50 to 1, 10th best in the AFC.
Wide open, half open, closed for the Pittsburgh Steelers under Mike McCarthy?
Closed.
I, I, I just don't see this team having a chance to compete for a Super Bowl.
I just think that's a stretch.
I think Aaron Rodgers, this is I think Aaron Rodgers was, this first- came about what you saying is, is I think he's still playing at a good enough level to go out there and compete.
I just, I don't see this team in that division being able to outlast Baltimore, to handle what Cincinnati brings this year.
I think, I think they finish third in that division.
I just, I don't see it for them at that level.
They have, you know, T.J. Watt.
Is he also now in that boat of like he's still a good player, but not as great as he used to be?
You got Cam Heyward.
You have a lot of different pieces that are older players that are still competing, similar to Aaron Rodgers, that I don't know if we have that blend that you kind of see in Kansas City with some of the young players.
I think that's the hard thing for them, of having a chance to really compete for a Super Bowl.
Yeah.
The tricky one for me is Mike did such a great job there for so long and, and, and, there's a culture that has existed in Pittsburgh for a long time- since Chuck Noll showed up there, and somehow they've been able to, to, to carry that over, but Mike added so much to it.
They, they, they were a really tough team to play against.
I mean- Mm-hmm you played against them a ton.
And, and so can they maintain that spirit?
Mike McCarthy's gonna do it very differently.
Yes.
I think it's a great hire.
Bring the Pittsburgh guy home, reunite him with the quarterback, all of that stuff.
Mike is gonna do a great Mike, Mike McCarthy's gonna do a great job there.
I actually disagree with you on the division.
Cleveland might surprise people.
I don't think they're great.
Cincinnati will get better on defense, but still I think there are real- Mm-hmm questions about that, and there's some questions in Baltimore just with John Harbaugh not being there.
So I do think the window in the division is as open as it's been in recent years.
For me, all the questions that you raised are real.
Quarterback is a hard position to play.
When you're 42 years old, week after week after week, to play at the level you need to play at.
So again, you hear me say this a lot, if they can spread the burden around, not make it all about Aaron Rodgers every week, that's what gives them their chance.
The biggest question for me is Mike McCarthy over Mi- you know, after Mike Tomlin, can they maintain that same kind of edginess that Mike Tomlin always had in his teams?
I think that will help them, 'cause it's gonna be a gritty division, and they're gonna need some grit as the season goes on.
Well, McCarthy comes out last week and says they're not gonna tackle to the ground at training camp, and then after yesterday's first padded practice of training camp, Jalen Warren, who's been there five years, said it was the most tame, uneventful first padded practice he had ever experienced.
They're setting up a very clear bright line if they fail to why they failed, and those Pittsburgh folks are gonna say, "We weren't physical enough.
You weren't tough enough on them in practice, and that's why we're 7 and 10."
They, they didn't have a losing season one year.
How hard is that in the NFL?
Hard.
Hard.
When everybody's trying to win every game, everybody's knocking on the door- Yeah and to not have a losing season in 19 years, in a generation, Mike Tomlin did not have a losing season one time, that is amazing.
It's really hard.
A- a- and people, you know, in, in some ways they disparage that, because they need to go fur- How, how many teams would love to have the record that they've had over the last 20 years?
Mm-hmm.
You know, probably 28 or 29 other teams would love to do, do what they've done.
Let's, let's go back to the physical nature of practice.
Mike McCarthy's been a very successful coach in the NFL for a long time in different places.
He has a certain style.
You know, he clearly believes in the, the health of the player.
We're not gonna lose players on the practice field, all of that.
Sean McVay probably has a similar philosophy.
You know, I personally feel like, you know, having harder practices, challenging guys physically and mentally in practice, making an intense environment, I think that helps you develop the callouses you need.
That's how I grew up in football, but different guys have different, different, philosophies on that.
So let's just let the thing play out.
Yeah.
And it, and it's hard.
I know even the year I retired and when Jerod Mayo took over in New England, every question that every player is gonna get when a coach has been there for a long time is, "Hey, you were in full pads today.
Different?
The same as Mike Tomlin practice?"
So they're gonna have to deal with that, and I think the best thing they can do is when they get asked questions like that, is just say, "Hey, we're here now under Mike McCarthy."
When you start talking about what you did in the p- I just think it, it creates more pressure for the coach that's not necessary.
I agree with you, it's not a problem for Mike McCarthy.
He's been a long time head coach.
He could care less probably about the comparison.
But it, it's just gonna be a natural thing for everyone in Pittsburgh to compare everything they do this year to the 19 seasons prior, which when you actually think, it, it just doesn't matter.
It doesn't, but it does.
It does.
It's gonna matter to the fans if they realize the team isn't what it was under- Yeah, but the f- Mike Tomlin we were there.
The fans were like, "We want..." Oh, true.
They wanted a change more than anything.
Yeah.
So if you do change, and then the next head coach comes in and does the same exact things that the other coach did, they will be complaining about that.
Exactly.
So it, it, it's just, it's one of those situations when you replace someone who's had success and been somewhere for a long time, the results are what's gonna matter more than anything.
That Packers game was jarring to see how many Packers fans were there.
Yep.
And they got louder, and they got louder as that game went on, and it just felt flat and But still- But- 19 straight non-losing seasons- No doubt is incredibly impressive.
But that's an old story in football.
The Packers travel well.
The Steelers travel well.
The Steelers travel all over the country- and they have a similar feeling.
So, you know, you said it, it's gonna matter how they do, the results, the record, and then, the narrative will follow that.
