The Steelers made it official on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, introducing Mike McCarthy as their 17th head coach in team history. McCarthy becomes only the fourth head coach hired by the Steelers since 1969.
McCarthy brings 18 seasons of experience as a head coach in the NFL, 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers (2006-18) and five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (2020-24).
McCarthy, who is a Pittsburgh native, has a 174-112-2 (.608) overall coaching record and has the fourth-most wins among active NFL coaches and 15th most in NFL history.
McCarthy led his teams to 12 postseason appearances and eight division titles. The teams he has coached have won six NFC North titles (Packers) and two NFC East titles (Cowboys).
In addition, McCarthy teams have advanced to four NFC Championship Games, and he guided the Packers to a Super Bowl XLV Championship over the Steelers following the 2010 season.
Throughout his coaching career, McCarthy had 10 wins in 11 of his 18 seasons as a head coach. He recorded 12 plus wins in six different seasons, tied for fourth-most in NFL history, behind only Bill Belichick (13), Andy Reid (10) and Don Shula (8). He has the second-most career wins (125 regular season, 135 including postseason) in Packers' history.
McCarthy has been widely heralded for his offensive mindset, with his team's offenses finishing highly ranked in multiple statistical categories throughout the years including the following compiled by Steelers PR: Top 10 league-wide in passing yards (14 times), total offense (11) and scoring (12). He also guided the NFL's highest-scoring offense four times, ranked in the top five nine times and in the top 10 on 11 occasions. Dallas and Green Bay averaged 26.8 and 25.9 points/game, respectively, ranking second and third in the NFL in scoring offense during his tenures.
McCarthy is known for his work with quarterbacks, and has worked with Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Rich Gannon, Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott. The highly successful quarterbacks he has worked with have a combined 45 Pro Bowl selections, started 10 Super Bowls and earned 10 Associated Press Most Valuable Player awards.
McCarthy worked with Favre and Rodgers with the Packers. In his first two years with the Packers, McCarthy worked with Favre, who finished second in MVP voting in 2007.
McCarthy spent 11 seasons working with Rodgers. McCarthy and Rodgers combined for a record of 100-57-1, while Rodgers threw for 42,615 yards, 337 touchdowns and only 79 interceptions, while winning two MVP honors. Under McCarthy, Rodgers topped 4,000 passing yards six times. Rodgers became the first quarterback in NFL history to surpass the 4,000-yard mark in each of his first two seasons as a starter.
With the Cowboys he worked with quarterback Dak Prescott. In 2023, Prescott finished second in MVP voting, leading the NFL in completions (410) and touchdown passes (36).
During his time with the Cowboys, McCarthy had three 12-win seasons, led them to the playoffs three times in five seasons and had three consecutive top-five scoring offenses.
In addition to his head coaching experience, McCarthy spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach in the NFL. McCarthy also spent time with the New Orleans Saints (2000-04) and San Francisco 49ers (2005) as the offensive coordinator for both franchises.
McCarthy got his start in the NFL in 1993 as a quality control assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs under Marty Schottenheimer. He went on to coach the Chiefs quarterbacks (1995-98), before coaching the Packers quarterbacks (1999).
He also spent time coaching in the college ranks, at the University of Pittsburgh as a graduate assistant (1989-91) and receivers coach (1992). In addition, he was a graduate assistant linebackers coach at Fort Hays State (1987-88).
McCarthy graduated from Bishop Boyle High School in Homestead, Pa. He and his wife, Jessica, established The McCarthy Family Foundation, which has made donations to benefit numerous charities, projects and institutions. Beneficiaries have included organizations throughout Wisconsin, Kansas, and Pittsburgh. Some of the organizations that have benefited from the foundation, or from McCarthy personally, include: Aquinas Academy, Autism Society of Northwest Wisconsin, Baker University, Cure Autism Now Foundation, Greater Green Bay Community Foundation (GB Police Foundation), Green Bay Boys and Girls Club, Greensburg Central Catholic, Greenfield Baseball Association, Greenfield Organization, Jackie Nitschke Center, Lake Travis High School, Little Sisters of the Poor, Merging Vets and Players, Notre Dame School of De Pere, Rampy MS Research Foundation, Rawhide, Seven Loaves Project, St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center, St. Rosalia Academy, Team Gleason, Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer and the American Red Cross.
