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Although the Pittsburgh Steelers have a new head coach in Mike McCarthy, not everything is changing. McCarthy has already committed to the 3-4 defense, expressed a desire to have Aaron Rodgers back, and seems to be winning over some players. Although Mike Tomlin is gone, the process is going pretty smoothly so far with McCarthy and most of his new staff now in the building.<\/p>\n
For any head coach, connecting with a new roster is the biggest first hurdle. But McCarthy, with nearly two decades of experience as an NFL head coach, won\u2019t have an issue with that, according to former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.<\/p>\n
\u201cMcCarthy has been around for a long time. He\u2019s coached veterans. He knows what it\u2019s like to be a veteran in this league. He\u2019s going to have an understanding, a soft spot if you will, for Cam [Heyward], for T.J. [Watt], for Boz [Boswell],\u201d Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his Footbahlin podcast.<\/p>\n
For some of the veterans on this roster, it\u2019s hard to move on from Tomlin. Even for someone like Cam Heyward, who has spent his entire NFL life in Pittsburgh, he will be playing under a different head coach for the first time in his career. He and several other established veterans on the Steelers\u2019 roster all have to buy into McCarthy\u2019s vision before anyone else will.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, that seems to be happening. Alex Highsmith and Joey Porter Jr. showed up to his introductory press conference. A couple of players have come out with public support for him since taking the job. McCarthy\u2019s been in this league for quite a while and has always been able to command a locker room, so it shouldn\u2019t be a huge task for him in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
However, there is one area in which Roethlisberger hopes Mike McCarthy does better than Tomlin did.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think sometimes Tomlin got a little too lenient with young guys\u2026 Early on, he cracked the whip on everybody, veterans, young guys. Then, he kinda, okay, veterans got away with some stuff, which is probably okay. Then to the point where almost even young guys could get away with some stuff. I\u2019m hoping that McCarthy\u2019s the type that\u2019s like, okay, if you earned it, I\u2019m gonna treat you all fair, but not equal\u2026 I\u2019m hoping that he comes in, and is like, no listen, we\u2019re gonna make a change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coaching in the same building for as long as Tomlin did, it\u2019s not a surprise that he had to change some things up. It\u2019s hard to keep the same level of intensity over that many years, especially as some key players are only getting older. There\u2019s a reason the T.J. Watts and the Heywards of the world get more veteran rest days.<\/p>\n
However, you can critique Tomlin for his leniency with some younger players. The first, obvious answer that would come to mind is George Pickens. Tomlin always had his players\u2019 backs, and that was evident with Pickens. Despite plenty of off-the-field concerns, including being late to games, Tomlin went to bat for his young receiver.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s just one example, and it\u2019s not ill-intentioned on Tomlin\u2019s part. He had a tremendous feel for the locker room and obviously wanted to have Pickens\u2019 back as often as possible. Players will always love to play for a coach like that. However, Roethlisberger thinks things got too lenient with younger players as his tenure wore on. He hopes Mike McCarthy will bring some renewed intensity and accountability.<\/p>\n