The Pittsburgh Steelers entered a new era during the 2026 offseason. Mike Tomlin stepped down as head coach, paving the way for Pittsburgh to make a hometown hire in Mike McCarthy. That change in leadership took some getting used to, at least for one legendary Steelers figure.
Steelers legend Dick LeBeau spoke about that transition during a recent podcast appearance.
“I was surprised that Mike didn’t come back because the team rallied there at the end of the year really and won some really key games,” LeBeau said on Monday via Deebo & Joe. “And I thought, well we’re going to get another year to get this thing going the way we knew it could be. I don’t know this coach. I know he coached Green Bay when they beat us in our last Super Bowl, but I’ve always had a lot of respect for him.”
It must not have been easy for the Steelers to lose Tomlin. After all, he had an impressive 193-114-2 record in the regular season during his tenure in Pittsburgh.
But LeBeau explained that he is encouraged by the fact that McCarthy gets to finally coach his hometown team.
“But what I liked about the hire, he’s a Pittsburgh guy, born and raised there. I know in his heart, his lifetime ambition has been to coach or play for the team you grow up in,” LeBeau added. “So I know this, he’s going to give it everything he’s got to help make this football team, I mean they’re close.”
McCarthy is no slouch of a head coach either. He has a 174-112-2 record in the regular season and one Super Bowl title. That makes his resume quite similar to Tomlin.
It will be exciting to see how the Steelers fare during the 2026 NFL season.
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