Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy is proof they’re fine with 10-7 and a quick playoff exit, and I’m done pretending it’s a plan. This is the most Steelers thing the Steelers could do in 2026: dress up “same old” as “new leadership” and hope the fanbase shuts up because the guy’s from Pittsburgh.

If you’re mad, good. You should be. This isn’t some bold swing to change your future, it’s a comfort hire to keep the floor warm and the seats filled. After watching them go 10-7, score 397 points, allow 387, and then get bullied 30-6 at home by Houston in the wild card round, the response should’ve been ruthless. Instead, the franchise picked the safest “change” imaginable and called it progress.

Steelers Hiring Mike McCarthy Is a Giant “We’re Fine” Sign

Let’s cut through the nonsense. Pittsburgh did not hire Mike McCarthy because he’s the best possible option to chase a Super Bowl in the modern NFL. They hired him because he’s familiar, he’s acceptable, he won’t rock the building, and he’ll keep them right where they’ve been living for years: competitive enough to avoid embarrassment in November, not good enough to scare anyone in January.

That’s what makes it tone deaf. Fans didn’t want a shiny resume. Fans wanted a direction. A real identity. A plan that doesn’t end with the same press conference every winter about “learning from it” and “coming back stronger.”

The Steelers don’t get credit for being “stable” anymore. Stability is nice when you’re building something. Stability is a problem when you’re stuck in a rut and you refuse to admit it. If the goal is to raise the ceiling, you don’t hire the human version of “pretty good.”

The Steelers Are Trapped in the 10-7 Comfort Zone

You want the numbers? Here they are, and they’re ugly in the way that hurts because they’re not disastrous. They’re just… average.

The Steelers went 10-7. They scored 397 points. They gave up 387. That’s not a powerhouse. That’s not a bully. That’s a team living in the middle of the league. A team that can beat up on weaker opponents, grind out wins, and then run out of answers when the game gets faster and the margin disappears.

And then the playoffs happened, which is where this whole conversation should start and end. Houston came into Acrisure and turned the Steelers into a speed bump. Final score: 30-6. Not 30-24 with a couple bounces the other way. Six points. At home.

The Steelers had 175 total yards. Aaron Rodgers went 17-for-33 for 146 yards and threw a pick. Pittsburgh turned it over three times. Houston dropped 23 points in the fourth quarter and made it look like the Steelers were playing a different sport. That’s not “one bad night.” That’s what it looks like when your roster and your approach have a hard ceiling.

So why, exactly, are we hiring a coach who screams “keep it steady” instead of “break the ceiling”?

Mike McCarthy’s Track Record Screams High Floor, Low Ceiling

McCarthy’s career record is 185-123-2. That’s real. That’s not a fluke. He’s won a Super Bowl. He’s coached elite quarterbacks. He’s also been a head coach long enough that we know exactly what he is.

His playoff record is 11-11. Dead even. That matters, because the Steelers’ entire problem is January. Nobody in Pittsburgh is begging for more regular season competence. We’ve had competence. We’ve had “in the mix.” We’ve had winning records. We’ve had enough “good seasons” to wallpaper the stadium.

What we haven’t had is postseason success. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since January 2017. That’s not a stat you gloss over. That’s a decade of reality. That’s an entire NFL era.

And here’s where people get defensive and start yelling about how hard it is to win. Yeah, it’s hard. That’s the point. If it’s hard, why are you choosing the safe option that keeps you comfortable instead of the uncomfortable option that might actually change your fate?

McCarthy in Dallas is the perfect warning label. The Cowboys won a lot of games under him. They also stayed the Cowboys in the playoffs. Three straight 12-win seasons from 2021 to 2023, and it still ended with the same feeling: “Cool, and what did it get you?” That’s exactly what Steelers fans are afraid of, because we already live there.

This Whole Thing Smells Like Aaron Rodgers, and I Hate That

You can pretend this is purely about coaching if you want, but nobody’s buying it. McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers have history. They won together in Green Bay. Rodgers is 42. And the Steelers are still stuck in quarterback limbo, which is the biggest reason they keep ending up as a wild card piñata.

Rodgers’ 2025 season wasn’t a disaster. It also wasn’t what you build a Super Bowl plan around in 2026. He threw for 3,322 yards with 24 touchdowns and seven picks. Then you look at the bigger picture number that tells you where he really was: a 44.3 QBR, 23rd in the league.

That’s the middle. That’s “he can still play sometimes.” That’s not “this guy is dragging you through January.”

And then the wild card game happened, and it was the nightmare every fan was trying not to imagine. 146 passing yards. No touchdowns. A pick that turned into points the other way. Six total points as a team. You can blame the line. You can blame the scheme. You can blame the receivers. At some point, your quarterback is your quarterback.

So when the Steelers hire McCarthy and people immediately say, “Oh, they’re trying to keep Rodgers,” I can’t even argue. It fits too clean. And if that’s the motivation, then this hire is even worse, because it confirms the franchise is still thinking one year at a time instead of building something real.

That’s what makes me sick. They keep renting seasons.

The Steelers Keep Picking “Not Embarrassing” Over “Actually Dangerous”

Here’s the part working people understand in their bones. There’s a difference between doing your job and chasing greatness. One keeps the lights on. The other changes your life.

The Steelers operate like a company that’s terrified of a down year, even if that down year is exactly what it would take to get out of the mud. They refuse to bottom out. They refuse to go all-in. They refuse to pick a lane.

And the result is always the same. You finish 9-8, 10-7, maybe 11-6 if a few close games break right. You sell hope. You talk about the culture. Then you run into a real team in the playoffs and find out your offense can’t keep up and your margin is paper thin.

This hire feels like the Steelers telling you the mission is to stay respectable, not to win the whole thing. Because if you were serious about contending, you’d prioritize innovation, aggression, and a quarterback pipeline. You would not prioritize comfort and familiarity.

And don’t insult everyone’s intelligence with the “Pittsburgh guy” stuff like it’s a reason. Hiring someone because he’s from Greenfield is cute for the press conference. It doesn’t scare Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, or Patrick Mahomes. The NFL doesn’t care where you’re from. It cares what you can build.

What a Real Steelers Super Bowl Plan Would Look Like

If the Steelers want to shut people like me up, here’s how they do it. Not with slogans. With moves.

First, the quarterback plan has to be bigger than “maybe Aaron’s back.” If Rodgers returns, fine, but that cannot be the whole plan. Draft a quarterback early. Develop him like you mean it. Stop acting like the future will magically show up without you taking a real shot at it.

Second, the offense has to stop playing scared. Enough with the conservative nonsense that treats 17 points like a winning number. You don’t win in January that way. The Steelers just scored six points in a playoff game at home. If that doesn’t trigger a complete philosophical overhaul, then nothing will.

Third, the staff matters. If McCarthy brings in a forward-thinking offensive coordinator and actually modernizes the passing game, the spacing, the motion, the red zone ideas, then great. If he brings in a bunch of familiar faces and we’re still living in third-and-long hell every week, then we already know where it’s going.

Fourth, stop pretending “competitive” is the same as “contender.” Art Rooney II saying they’re not rebuilding might sound strong, but it can also be a trap. Sometimes you have to take your medicine to get better. Right now, the Steelers keep refusing the medicine and wondering why they’re still sick.

My Fear: This Is Just the Steelers Choosing the Same Ending

This is why the McCarthy hire feels like the worst move possible, even if the guy can coach. It’s not about whether he can win games. He can. It’s about what the hire represents.

It represents the Steelers being obsessed with maintaining the floor. It represents them believing a familiar name and a familiar vibe will fix a problem that’s been screaming for a decade. It represents them thinking the fanbase will accept more “meaningful December games” as a substitute for actual postseason progress.

And after the Texans game, after 30-6, after 175 total yards, after three turnovers, after another year ending in the same embarrassment, I don’t want “steady.” I want a franchise that’s angry about losing when it matters.

Right now, the only people who sound angry are the fans.

Final Word: The Steelers Don’t Get to Sell Hope Without a Plan

Steelers fans aren’t spoiled. They’re exhausted. They’re tired of being told every season is proof of “the standard” while January keeps proving the opposite. They’re tired of watching the franchise settle for the middle because the middle is comfortable and profitable.

Hiring Mike McCarthy might keep the Steelers from falling apart. That’s not the goal. The goal is to win a Super Bowl, and this move does not feel like a Super Bowl move. It feels like a move designed to keep them hovering around 10-7, keep the building calm, and keep the excuses fresh.

If the Steelers want to prove everyone wrong, they can. But it’s going to take more than a hometown hire and a wink at Aaron Rodgers. It’s going to take the one thing this franchise keeps avoiding: a real, aggressive, modern plan to become dangerous again.

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