The Latest Steelers' Mike McCarthy Criticism Is Just Wrong

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy left a memorable impression during his introductory press conference. After being introduced as the 17th head coach in team history, McCarthy was overwhelmed with emotions.

During his opening remarks, McCarthy struggled to get through what it meant to join the Steelers. After the initial reaction to his hiring was mostly negative on social media and across the NFL community, his first appearance as coach garnered some positivity.

One former NFL player isn't convinced, however. Emmanuel Acho, a five-year NFL player and host of the Speakeasy podcast, rebuffed McCarthy's emotions, telling him to cut out the waterworks.

"Stop all your crying,” he said. "Not because it’s not emotional. Because I’m old enough to have watched Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys presser. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you."

McCarthy the Actor

Acho didn't stop there. He went on to call McCarthy a "phenomenal actor," citing his Dallas Cowboys introductory press conference as reason not to believe his word.

"McCarthy, you’re a phenomenal actor," he continued. "You deceived at that Cowboys press conference. If you remember the Mike McCarthy’s Cowboy presser, you not finna fool me with all these tears.”

Acho is referencing when McCarthy admitted that he did not watch the entire Cowboys season before they hired him, unlike what he told team owner Jerry Jones. The moment was taken as a joke, and even if he was serious, it didn't impact the outcome of his coaching tenure in Dallas. The actor that is Mike McCarthy is led the Cowboys to three 12-win seasons. They came up short in the postseason, but it wasn't because McCarthy failed to watch every snap of the 2019 season before taking over.

Similarly, the Steelers do not give a rat's you-know-what if McCarthy watched all of their 2025 season or not. They just care about what their new coach will bring to the organization for the 2026 season.