The Pittsburgh Steelers made the shocking decision to fire long-time Head Coach Mike Tomlin a couple of weeks ago. After seven straight playoff losses, the two parted ways, and the Steelers were tasked with finding just their fourth head coach since 1969.

After a quiet and expedited search, the Steelers announced on Saturday that they were hiring former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy. The move was not met with much enthusiasm from the fanbase, and I believe they’re right to feel mixed emotions about the decision.

Let us break down the reasons behind the “meh” reaction to bringing on McCarthy.

They hired the offensive version of Mike Tomlin

Mike McCarthy is a solid coach, but I don’t think he’s the right fit for this job. He’s pretty much just an offensive-minded Mike Tomlin, so I don’t see how this hire moves the needle for the Steelers. All you need to do is compare their resumes to see why many are questioning this decision.

As you can see, Tomlin and McCarthy are basically the same coach. Tomlin’s been better in the regular season while McCarthy has the edge in the postseason, and both of them have won a Super Bowl (over 15 years ago). Neither of them have really accomplished much of anything since their 2011 Super Bowl matchup, so Art Rooney II is really banking on McCarthy making a complete 180 in Pittsburgh.

They needed an elevator and got a franchise builder

The Steelers needed to get a head coach who could elevate this team. They missed out on John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski, so I feel like it was the right time for them to take a swing on a young up-and-comer like Joe Brady, Jesse Minter, Klint Kubiak or maybe even Mike McDaniel. But they didn’t.

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Coming into this hiring cycle, I thought McCarthy would be the perfect fit for a team like Las Vegas or Tennessee. He seems like the perfect candidate for a team that’s trying to get stable and make the playoffs.

Both the Raiders and Titans need someone to come in, build a culture and raise the floor, and then if they can start winning in the playoffs, great. If not, you’d be a desirable location for another top head coach candidate in a few years.

The Steelers don’t need someone to stabilize them. They’ve had that for 19 seasons. They need someone who can take them to the next level. They have a roster that has a strong foundation and is ready to win in the next few seasons, but they hired a coach who is notorious for not getting over the hump.

This is the Steelers accepting mediocrity

By hiring McCarthy, the Steelers are accepting the fact that they won’t win a Super Bowl in the next five years. Look at some of the coaches in the AFC. I can confidently say that eight of them – Andy Reid, Sean Payton, Jim Harbaugh, Shane Steichen, Liam Coen, Robert Saleh, DeMeco Ryans and Mike Vrabel – are better than McCarthy.

And I didn’t even include any of the first-year guys, like Jesse Minter, who I believe have a higher ceiling as head coach.

If McCarthy had someone like Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen under center, I’d say he could possibly win it all, but he’s either going to have a 43-year-old Aaron Rodgers, a day two rookie or some free agent who won’t raise their ceiling at all.

To me, this move reeks of the Steelers accepting mediocrity. They care more about their 19-year winning seasons streak than winning the Super Bowl.

If they truly wanted to win it all, they would’ve swung much bigger than McCarthy.