Big Ben Wants Mike McCarthy as Target for Next Steelers OC

With the Steelers out of playoffs and it seems all the more likely that Mike Tomlin is coming back, the search turns to the offensive coordinator search. It’s a huge hire for the franchise and Tomlin going forward, especially for a team without any answers on the offensive coaching staff.

In the past, Tomlin has hired anyone from former head coaches to first-time coordinators. But there is one that could become available that sticks out. There has been speculation that the Cowboys could move on from Mike McCarthy as head coach. If that happens, could he want to return home to the Steelers and take that job?

Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger believes that McCarthy would be a great hire for the team.

“He’s a Pittsburgh guy, and someone talked about him maybe being the OC,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. “I think he’s a brilliant mind, he’d be awesome, but I don’t know. As a head coach guy, like Tomlin’s a head coach, sometimes having two head-coach personalities, some guys it doesn’t work. Just think that’s an interesting one.”

Roethlisberger said that McCarthy grew up in Pittsburgh and knows the Steelers tradition well. Around the NFL, a guy like McCarthy commands immense respect for his years in Green Bay and Dallas. If Jerry Jones were to move on from McCarthy, this could make a lot of sense for the Steelers to make that move. It would be more about McCarthy’s willingness to take that job.

Tomlin has done a similar thing by hiring Todd Haley in the past, and Haley boasted the most prolific offenses of the Tomlin era. McCarthy’s offenses in Dallas and Green Bay have put up solid numbers throughout his tenure. With Pittsburgh on the ropes and looking for someone, McCarthy makes sense as a high-end candidate.