Steelers Under Fire Over Mike McCarthy Decision

Several responses questioned the team’s direction.

"Do the Steelers continuously wanna be a middle of the road team?" one fan asked.

"Embarrassing. What a joke and a clear lack of ambition. He’s a good head coach, but he’s not the future. It feels like we’ve lost our ambition, our identity, and our drive. This is unacceptable. Rooney needs to sell the team. I would rather have kept Tomlin," another fan said.

"They fired Tomlin for this?" a fan questioned.

"Lol imagine him with a worse team than he had in Dallas AND no kicker for when he settles on field goals all game haha Steelers are cooked," one fan reacted.

"Tomlin leaves after 17 straight winning seasons; we hire the guy who went 1-4 in playoff games with a superteam. Peak Steelers speedrun to irrelevance," a fan said.

"Terrible decision by the Steelers. Here comes mediocrity," one fan mentioned.

Tomlin leaves behind a rare record of stability in Pittsburgh. He never posted a losing season and guided the Steelers to a Super Bowl title at the end of the 2008 season. Still, recent playoff struggles created unrest. Pittsburgh has not won a postseason game since the 2016 season, and that pressure grew louder in 2025.

The Steelers finished 10-7 and won the AFC North in 2025. Despite that, a 30-6 playoff loss to the Houston Texans exposed gaps against elite teams. The front office clearly felt a reset was needed.

McCarthy brings a Super Bowl ring from his time with the Green Bay Packers and years of experience managing high-profile rosters. Many fans see the hire as safe rather than bold. Whether McCarthy can shift that narrative will define the next chapter in Pittsburgh.