Mike McCarthy was born and raised in Pittsburgh, so being the head coach of the Steelers is a dream come true.
Not only is Mike McCarthy coaching Aaron Rodgers again, but he's also doing it for his hometown team.
McCarthy was born and raised in Pittsburgh, so being the head coach of the Steelers is a dream come true.
"Being from here, this is heavy being here," McCarthy said. "You know, you ride the streets that you grew up on, that you walked on, and do it every day. So many memories here and some memories that are heavy, so yeah, that's real.
"I'm at the point in my life at this age, I reflect more than I did 10, 15 years ago, so that's all part of it. Definitely, I've had time to do that. But the most important part of it is the fact that you're the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which I have a tremendous amount of pride in — not only being from here, but what the Pittsburgh Steelers stand for and the responsibility that myself and everybody has to this organization, and really for the players and coaches before us. So trust me, that lays on me every single day. It's important. It makes me jump out of bed."
McCarthy has coached the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. The Packers won Super Bowl XLV against the Steelers, with Rodgers winning Super Bowl MVP.
The Steelers won the AFC North last season but lost to the Houston Texans at home in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Mike Tomlin stepped down as head coach and he was replaced by McCarthy, who helped Rodgers win two MVPs in Green Bay.
"Looking forward to getting back in the saddle with Aaron [Rodgers]," McCarthy said. "But we know that's something you build during the course of the week. You know it's been a minute since he and I have worked together in that aspect."
The Steelers begin the 2026 season against the Atlanta Falcons. Rodgers will retire after this season, so McCarthy knows how important every game is.
"We're all excited about our first opportunity to compete," McCarthy said. "You're guaranteed 17 games. Obviously, it's our home opener, but really, I think the honeymoon's kind of over now."
In 2025, Rodgers put up 3,322 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. The future Hall of Famer completed 65.7% of his passes.
Rodgers is one of the greatest QBs in NFL history. He enters this season with 66,274 passing yards and 527 passing touchdowns in the regular season and 6,040 passing yards and 45 passing touchdowns in the playoffs.
