McCarthy adapts his offense, focusing on personnel. He'll build around the quarterback and running game, prioritizing flexibility for Pittsburgh's roster.
Mike McCarthy has always been known in football circles for running the West Coast offense.
Oddly enough, McCarthy has been the head coach for three storied NFL franchises that are not near the Pacific Ocean. McCarthy was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this week to replace Mike Tomlin after logging 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers from 2006-18 and the Dallas Cowboys from 2020-24.
McCarthy, though, doesn’t characterize his offensive scheme as West Coast. Perhaps the Middle America offense is a more accurate description.
"I'm a believer in the tradition of the West Coast offense," he said. "And the first thing that always came to mind was the offense needs to be built to make the quarterback successful. As simplistic as it is, that starts with running the football. I mean, you have to run the football, because if you don't run the football and you don't tailor your protection schemes and the action-pass game to the run game, obviously, it's not going to affect the defense and have the benefits of what you're looking for.
"The way the quarterback's coached in that system, you want a more athletic player in that position, the man that can extend plays and play to the rhythm and timing and spacing and all the things that go into an offensive system.
Aaron Rodgers was a quarterback for the Packers during McCarthy’s 13-year stint in Green Bay. Rodgers was successful during that stretch, winning two of his four NFL MVP awards and leading the Packers to a Super Bowl victory at the end of the 2010 season over the Steelers.
Pittsburgh knows Rodgers well. He spent this season with them and led the Steelers to their first AFC North title since 2020. However, Pittsburgh was blasted by the Houston Texans 30-6 in a Wild Card playoff game, extending the franchise's postseason losing streak to seven games.
The 42-year-old Rodgers said after the game that he did not know if he would return for a 22nd season in 2026. McCarthy says the door is open for Rodgers to quarterback the Steelers again next season if he agrees to a contract in free agency.
If Rodgers returns, Pittsburgh will run the West Coast offense or at least some form of it since its wide receiver depth is alarming. If Rodgers doesn’t come back, McCarthy will deploy the offense to match the talent.
“At the end of the day, I would never say we run the West Coast offense,” McCarthy said. “If your system of football cannot take in every player that (general manager) Omar (Khan) and (Steelers president) Art (Rooney II) want to bring to the Pittsburgh Steelers, then you need to take a look at your system. So we need to make sure we can accommodate the variety of players that are available to us."
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