Mike McCarthy Must Win Over Steelers' Locker Room Like Tomlin Did in 2007

When Mike Tomlin took over as head coach of the Steelers in 2007, he filled the shoes of a Pittsburgh legend. Bill Cowher had retired just one year after bringing the Vince Lombardi Trophy home, and now the team belonged to Tomlin. On America's Game: 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers, Tomlin, Ben Roethlisberger, and Troy Polamalu reflected on how the new head coach kept his foot on the pedal, a decision that wore the team down and led to their elimination in the wild card round. Still, the approach was necessary: the 35-year-old Tomlin had to make one thing clear. Cowher was gone, and this was his team now. Now Mike McCarthy must fill Tomlin's shoes, facing a similar dilemma.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated painted a picture of McCarthy's year-one challenge with the Steelers, and it sounds all too familiar.

"There's a real balance that homecoming Steelers coach Mike McCarthy will have to strike between managing an older roster and establishing his program—generally, Year 1 isn't when you take the foot off the gas," Breer wrote.

Sounds familiar, right? McCarthy inherits a roster of established veterans accustomed to Tomlin's way of doing things. Now he must step in the way his predecessor once did. The good news: McCarthy is more than built for the challenge.

This Isn't McCarthy's First Rodeo

Though this marks McCarthy's first stint as the Steelers' head coach, it isn't his first rodeo. He previously led two other iconic franchises. The Green Bay job didn't carry the same turnover challenge, but the Dallas Cowboys job comes close. Jason Garrett coached the Cowboys from 2010 to 2019, and stepping into that role represented a big shift for McCarthy, one that ultimately brought him some success in Dallas.

The Cowboys tenure wasn't all sunshine, but McCarthy left with a winning record. He might still be there had he and Jerry Jones agreed on a shared vision for the future. To be clear, though, Tomlin's legendary career dwarfs Garrett's; McCarthy faces bigger shoes to fill this time.

So while McCarthy tasted this challenge in Dallas, it doesn't compare to what awaits him now. He'll have to win over veterans while establishing that these are McCarthy's Steelers.

McCarthy's Challenge Still Lies Ahead

Breer also pointed out that McCarthy has stayed flexible and adapted to his teams throughout his career. As with the Packers and Cowboys, he's accustomed to starting fresh with established veterans.

"The good news is McCarthy has always been willing to change and adapt to the conditions around him, and he's had veteran teams in the past, which tells me he'll have a good game plan … Making sure that doesn't affect the rest of the team will be the tricky part," Breer wrote.

McCarthy will undoubtedly have to navigate this dynamic. Breer named veterans such as Aaron Rodgers, Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, and Jalen Ramsey as key voices he'll need to win over. Earning their trust will make everything else easier, and the good news is that McCarthy and Rodgers have already rekindled their working relationship. Despite how poorly things ended in Green Bay, the two have spoken fondly of each other since.

Perhaps McCarthy's career has been building toward this moment all along.