After nearly two decades of stability, the Pittsburgh Steelers handed the keys to Mike McCarthy, officially closing the Mike Tomlin chapter. Naturally, Steelers Nation had opinions. However, the noise really picked up once Stephen A. Smith floated an idea that Ryan Clark should have been part of the head coaching search. Still, not everyone liked that take. In fact, one Steelers legend flat out rejected it.

Soon after, Stephen A. Smith’s take went viral. As a result, Antonio Brown jumped straight into the fire. The former Steelers star did not sugarcoat a thing while reacting on social media.

“One of the worst takes of all time…” he wrote on X.

Brown and Ryan Clark were teammates on the Pittsburgh Steelers for four seasons, from 2010 to 2013. During this time, Clark acted as a veteran mentor to a young Brown. However, later their relationship became strained. Clark even once said Brown was “not a good teammate.”

So what exactly did Smith say that sparked all this? While speaking on air, he made his stance crystal clear.

“I want to state for the record, and I’m not joking about this, I’m dead serious,” he stated. “I believe that Ryan Clark, whom I am looking at right now, should’ve been interviewed for the job.”

Meanwhile, Clark was caught off guard. Sitting right there with Smith, he looked around in disbelief at his co-hosts before responding. Although he admitted he would have appreciated an interview, he quickly played it down and did not lean into the idea too hard.

Still, Smith was not letting it go. Instead, he doubled down with full confidence.

“Ryan Clark should have been interviewed for the head coaching job of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” he affirmed. “Y’all are going to come to me years later. Remember this. Keep this in the archives. Stephen A. said it!”

Interestingly, Clark addressed when the Steelers hired Mike McCarthy as the new head coach.

“In one word, uninspiring. Also, I think they know that,” he said on First Take. “The big thing with Mike McCarthy is he’s a proven winner.”

Now coming back to the head coach role, does Ryan Clark make sense for the Steelers?

Mike McCarthy makes way more sense than Ryan Clark

Since hanging up his cleats after the 2014 season, Rayan Clark jumped straight into media life, landing at ESPN by February 2015. Over the past decade, he has become a familiar face and voice for football fans. However, that experience has lived almost entirely in studios. Yes, he has coached high school football; despite that, when it comes to college sidelines or NFL locker rooms, Clark has no experience.

On the flip side, in 17 NFL seasons as a head coach, Mike McCarthy posted a 174–112–2 regular season record. He also sits in rare company with Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Andy Reid, and Bill Belichick as one of only five coaches to take a franchise to eight straight playoff appearances. Add to that a Super Bowl win with the Packers in 2010, and suddenly the choice feels far less complicated for Steeler Nation.

Then, there is another layer worth watching. Around the league, there is quiet hope that McCarthy’s history with Aaron Rodgers could nudge the 42-year-old quarterback toward a return next season. That connection alone gives Pittsburgh options it did not have before.

“We decided to bring Mike on because we believe that he’s the right coach for us at this point to help lead us to a championship. We don’t know what Aaron’s [Rodgers] plans are right now, and that did not weigh heavily in the decision,” Art Rooney told Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola.

“We’ll see where Aaron is, and we’ve left the door open, but obviously we all have to sit down and see if that makes sense. So that’ll happen sometime in the next month or so. But the decision was made based on Mike being the coach we want, and it really had very little to do with whether Aaron is going to be back or not.”

So despite Stephen A. Smith’s out-of-the-box take, McCarthy simply makes more sense for the Steelers right now.