Steelers president Art Rooney II details hiring process for Mike McCarthy as replacement for Mike Tomlin
Mike McCarthy is coming home to Pittsburgh and Steelers president Art Rooney II gave some insight into the process behind hiring the former Packers and Cowboys coach to replace Mike Tomlin.
News broke over the weekend that the Steelers had reached a verbal agreement to hire Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy to become the team's next head coach.
McCarthy, who is expected to sign a five-year deal with the Steelers, grew up in the Greenfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh and spent 13 seasons as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers and five years with the Dallas Cowboys.
Steelers president Art Rooney II spoke at length about the process, acknowledging that McCarthy's Pittsburgh roots may have been a factor in the decision, but in the end, McCarthy was hired because Rooney felt he was the right man for the job opening.
"He is someone who has a longer track record than many of the other candidates, a winning track record," said Rooney, as reported by Steeers.com editor Bob Labriola. "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."
Rooney said that the future of Aaron Rodgers, who played under McCarthy in Green Bay where they won a Super Bowl together, wasn't a factor in the hiring process. The 42-year-old veteran quarterback has been unclear about his future and whether he wants to return for another season in Pittsburgh.
Rooney said that each of the candidates who interviewed for the job were asked their thoughts on the team's roster and how they would strength it.
McCarthy was said to be high on Will Howard, who the Steelers drafted out of Ohio State in the sixth round last year.
"He likes Will Howard, thinks Will has tremendous upside and is looking forward to working with him," said Rooney. "Obviously feels like Mason can be a contributor. We'll have to sit down and discuss where Aaron is, if he decides to come back, and whether that all makes sense. I think Mike was very comfortable with the quarterback room and the possibilities with the quarterback room. In particular, the fact we have a young quarterback on the roster in whom he sees some upside."
Rooney also addressed what was considered to be a negative reaction to the news of McCarthy's hiring among Steelers fans.
"We're really not worried about winning the initial press conference. It's about picking the coach we believe will help us win games," said Rooney, "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."