Mike McCarthy has brought noticeable changes on both sides of the ball as he prepares for his first season as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But that naturally raises another question: Are those changes actually better than what the Steelers had under Mike Tomlin in 2025? Or how different will McCarthy’s approach truly be from Tomlin’s? Former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis recently acknowledged the upgrades the team has made, but he still believes Pittsburgh remains incomplete.

“They’ve got a chance,” Bettis said. “I think they’ve upgraded the football team in terms of talent. When you look at the team last year, they were not very good from a talent perspective. They’ve got better talent, so I think they’ve got a better chance. But I still believe they need more. They don’t have quite enough.”

The Steelers’ roster heading into the 2026 season does appear stronger than last year’s group, but the roster still has several flaws. Starting offensively, quarterback Aaron Rodgers is returning for his second season in Pittsburgh and his 22nd overall NFL season. The 42-year-old veteran will be backed up by Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and rookie Drew Allar on the depth chart.

Beyond that, Pittsburgh upgraded the wide receiver room by adding Michael Pittman Jr. alongside DK Metcalf. In the backfield, McCarthy reunited with former disciple Rico Dowdle while also adding depth through Kaleb Johnson and Eli Heidenreich. On paper, the offense looks improved. At the same time, though, concerns surrounding the offensive line remain significant.

For starters, Broderick Jones suffered a neck injury during the 2025 season and later underwent spinal fusion surgery. As OTAs continue, there is still no clear timeline for his full return. Jones’ absence has created legitimate concerns regarding the protection of Rodgers’ blindside. On top of that, Pittsburgh lost Isaac Seumalo to Arizona in free agency earlier this offseason, leaving another hole along the interior offensive line.

That is exactly why Mike McCarthy has shifted Troy Fautanu to the left side along with Mason McCormick. According to reports, the Steelers have made sweeping adjustments up front, essentially flipping players who operated on the right side in 2025 over to the left side and vice versa.

At the same time, while the quarterback room has depth entering the season, Rodgers’ age remains another major concern, considering the veteran quarterback will turn 43 years old in December. Add in the fact that Pittsburgh is coming off an inconsistent offensive season in 2025, and suddenly, these roster changes become a major challenge for McCarthy during his first year leading the franchise.

To put that into perspective, the Steelers finished the 2025 season ranked 15th in points scored but just 25th in total offensive yards. They ranked 22nd in passing yards and an ugly 25th in rushing yards. That means the passing attack as well as the run game struggled badly, and the offense consistently failed to move the football efficiently.

That naturally shifts attention toward the defensive side of the ball.

“I ain’t gonna lie to you, that Pittsburgh stuff… that s—t’s backwards over there,” Darius Slay, who had a poor 2025 season with the Steelers before they released him, said. “That ain’t [Teryl Austin] s—t. TA ain’t teach none of that s—t in f—king Detroit. [We played] outside leverage every f—king call. That’s why you see when [Jalen] Ramsey ever got scored on, he’s chasing someone that’s running away from outside leverage.”

The Steelers’ defense struggled last season. It really is that simple. Pittsburgh ranked 17th in points allowed, 26th in total yards allowed, 29th against the pass, and 13th against the run. And it is not as though the defense lacks talent either. The Steelers still have names like Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., TJ Watt, and Cam Heyward leading the unit. The bigger issue now is age.

Watt has remained dominant over the last several years, but he is now on the wrong side of 30. Heyward, meanwhile, is already 37 years old and nearing the final stage of his career. So when Bettis says the Steelers are improved from last season but still not quite enough, it would be unfair to say he is exaggerating the situation.

Pittsburgh has surely added 10 draft picks during the 2026 NFL Draft, including cornerback Daylen Everette, defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio, and safety Robert Spears-Jennings. But none of those rookies have taken a professional snap yet. The Steelers won the division last season, and now they are hoping to make a Super Bowl run. Still, the road to February is going to be difficult, even though McCarthy is implementing major changes.

Mike McCarthy leads a major offensive shift

As the Steelers kicked off OTAs, Steelers insider Mark Kaboly reported significant changes within Pittsburgh’s offense under new head coach Mike McCarthy.

“You could tell the difference offensively just through OTAs and just some of the schemes that they’re installing right now, and they’re still early in the process. He pretty much knows what he’s doing, offensively,” Kaboly said on 93.7 The Fan.

McCarthy has long been a believer in the West Coast offense and has experience working with quarterbacks such as Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Dak Prescott. In his report, Kaboly also noted that the Steelers are expected to lean more heavily on the run game than they have in recent seasons, justifying Dowdle’s arrival.

And in one way or another, Pittsburgh already appears to be moving in a different direction from the Mike Tomlin era. Over the past several years, Tomlin faced criticism for overseeing a conservative offense despite cycling through multiple offensive coordinators. Eventually, that led to growing frustration from reporters and analysts who believed Pittsburgh’s offense had become predictable.

But now, for the first time in more than half a century, the Steelers are operating under an offensive-minded head coach. How that ultimately plays out is something that will become clearer once the 2026 season begins unfolding.