For the past few years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have experienced stagnation in the NFL. The last time they made it past the Wild Card round was back in the 2017 postseason. This was despite them not having a single losing season. So after 19-years at the helm, head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down, with Mike McCarthy, former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys coach, taking his place. However, the ongoing Steelers training camp seems to have left the one-time Super Bowl-winning coach unimpressed after two weeks.

The Steelers convened for camp in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, at Saint Vincent College on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. Veteran QB Aaron Rodgers has returned for a final stint in the NFL under the familiar face of McCarthy, and while things may seem uplifting from the outside, the reality is vastly different, according to reporter Mark Kaboly.

“I don’t like where we are as far as the number of missed assignments… They’re a little higher than normal,” said McCarthy in a press conference.

This isn’t the first time McCarthy has pointed out the errors taking place on the training ground. Three days ago, per DkPittsburghSteelers.com’s Chris Halicke, McCarthy noted that he was not happy about how the practice went on August 6, 2026. 

“Said there were ‘way too many mental errors, too many missed assignments.’ He said yesterday and today are the hardest practices of training camp given what they’re adding on top of the four previous installs,” Halicke further noted of McCarthy’s assessment of Pittsburgh’s practice.

The root of McCarthy’s dissatisfaction with the Steelers camp comes from pre-snap penalties and the execution during heavy installation schemes. 

The Steelers will face the Packers on Thursday in their first preseason game. Mike McCarthy was the head coach of the Packers for 13 seasons, and still the only thing on his mind ahead of the game was fixing the Steelers’ penalty issues. 

“Green Bay means a lot to me personally and professionally, but I am more worried about our pre-snap penalties right now, to be honest,” Mike McCarthy said ahead of the game.

During a “Franco Moment” drill, where the offense was backed up to its own 1-yard line, rookie WR Germie Bernard committed a pre-snap false start, forcing an instant reset, per Chris Adamski, beat reporter for TribLIVE on Day 14 of camp. 

This, coupled with failed QB-center snap exchanges and lack of protection in red-zone blitz drills, has led McCarthy’s coaching staff to pull players mid-reps to reset huddles in training. For a year-1 HC trying to establish his high standards, unforced errors like pre-snap penalties are enough to substantiate his disappointment two weeks into camp. 

McCarthy’s offensive schemes are different than what the Steelers have been accustomed to under Tomlin. Mike McCarthy’s offense is centred around the traditional “West Coast” offensive philosophy with emphasis on making the QB successful. And with the kind of QBs he’s had as a HC in the NFL- Rodgers with the Packers and then Dak Prescott with the Cowboys- it hasn’t failed him per se. 

But Rodgers isn’t what he used to be the last time Mike McCarthy coached him. Still, McCarthy will have his own way of getting the best out of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But for now, the penalties remain the main concern that needs sorting out in training camp.