Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers landed the quarterback who beat them in Super Bowl XLV: Aaron Rodgers. Fast forward to this year, and they’ve moved on from Mike Tomlin to hire the man under whom Rodgers beat the Steelers on that stage: Mike McCarthy. And for one reason, or several, if that matters, the Steelers are now facing backlash over this decision. However, the former Steelers head coach, Bill Cowher, actually likes McCarthy’s hire.

“They did a lot of interviews, sat back, but also looked at their football team,” Cowher said. “And I really like this hire for this reason. Number one, he’s an offensive-minded guy in Mike McCarthy. Everywhere he’s been, he grew up under Marty Schottenheimer. So, he understands the value of running the football. He coached Joe Montana. He coached Brett Favre. He coached Aaron Rodgers. He coached Dak Prescott. Everywhere he’s been, he’s uplifted the offense.”

Cowher’s opinion carries weight in Pittsburgh. He led the franchise for more than a decade, so when he speaks on what works or doesn’t, people listen. His praise for McCarthy also came shortly after speaking with him, a conversation the Steelers legend described as “surreal,” underscoring just how full-circle this moment felt. And if you momentarily set aside the noise around the hire, it’s not hard to see why Art Rooney II ultimately trusted McCarthy to replace Tomlin.

Start with the obvious: McCarthy is a Pittsburgh native. He understands the city, the expectations, and how this organization operates. Add to that Cowher’s main point: McCarthy is an offensive-minded head, and suddenly the fit makes even more sense. Right now, offense is arguably Pittsburgh’s biggest need. The Steelers haven’t finished top-10 in points since 2018, and they haven’t cracked the top five since 2015.

Then there’s the quarterback résumé, which Cowher didn’t hesitate to highlight. McCarthy coached Brett Favre and then oversaw Aaron Rodgers’ transition to a full-time starter after three years on the bench. Under McCarthy, Rodgers won his first two MVP awards. Later in Dallas, even if the overall results fell short of expectations, McCarthy still guided Dak Prescott to a league-leading 36 passing touchdowns and a 105.9 passer rating in 2023.

Now in Pittsburgh, one of McCarthy’s biggest tasks will be identifying and developing the franchise’s next quarterback. After all, it’s a role the team has struggled to fill since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement. That’s exactly why Cowher has been vocal in his support for McCarthy, the Steelers’ fourth head coach since 1969. Still, while Cowher sees clarity in the decision, the backlash hasn’t gone away. And the debate around Art Rooney’s choice is far from settled.

The Steelers’ fans criticized the front office for hiring Mike McCarthy

The Steelers conducted seven virtual interviews and just three in person. One with Brian Flores, another with Anthony Weaver, and the last with Mike McCarthy. In the end, McCarthy landed the job, as the Steelers announced on ‘X,’ “We have verbally agreed for Mike McCarthy to become our next head coach.” In doing so, Pittsburgh also stepped away from its usual hiring blueprint.

Each of the Steelers’ last three head coaching hires, Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin, was 38 or younger and had never been an NFL head coach. McCarthy, meanwhile, is 62 and brings more than a decade of head coaching experience. But given his age and the fact that he has just one playoff win since 2017, the backlash exists. And the Steelers’ fans aren’t actually raving about this latest hire.

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“I genuinely hope Rooney and Khan get boo’d loudly and relentlessly at the Draft in Pittsburgh,” one said. The anger isn’t subtle, and it’s clearly visible. And it didn’t take long for that frustration to quickly turn toward leadership itself. One comment read, “We have verbally agreed to wanting Art Rooney II to step down. He’s inept. Outdated. Clueless. Careless.”

And then, just to underline the pessimism, another fan piled on with sarcasm: “4-13 incoming .. but hey, at least Mike Tomlin isn’t the coach of the Steelers anymore right?” It’s cynicism mixed with resignation. Others see the hire as a missed opportunity more than anything. One fan summed it up bluntly.

They wrote, “You’ve got to be kidding me. An opportunity to do something no, to bring freshness to the team, and you do this?! There were few clear bad options and you take one of those?! I hope he proves me wrong and that his results whit Cowboys were only because the Cowboys are the Cowboys.” And that’s really the through-line here: anger now, hope later, and a fanbase waiting to be convinced. With McCarthy looking to kick-start the offseason with the Steelers, it’s not hard to see that he’ll be under the microscope in his first year.