When the Pittsburgh Steelers officially named Mike McCarthy as their new head coach on Saturday, the reaction from fans was anything but quiet. Social media lit up - and not with celebration.
A vocal section of Steelers Nation made their displeasure known, questioning the hire and casting doubt on McCarthy’s fit in Pittsburgh. Whether that chorus of criticism proves prescient or premature is something only time - and wins - will determine.
But amid the noise, a detail from McCarthy’s interview process with the Steelers (and the Titans, who also spoke with him) caught attention and sparked even more conversation. According to longtime NFL insider Ed Werder, McCarthy came prepared with a presentation that included graphics and video highlighting his history of working with quarterbacks - a résumé that, according to Werder, starts with none other than Joe Montana during their time with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Let’s unpack that.
Yes, McCarthy and Montana were both in Kansas City in 1993. But that’s where the straightforward part of the story ends.
By the time Montana landed in K.C., he was already a football legend. Four-time Super Bowl champion.
Two-time league MVP. Eight-time Pro Bowler.
The man was the gold standard of quarterback play - and had been for over a decade. His move to the Chiefs was the final chapter of a Hall of Fame career, not the start of a developmental journey.
And McCarthy? At that point, he was just getting his NFL coaching career off the ground, serving as an offensive quality control assistant - a valuable role, no doubt, but not one that puts you in the quarterback room designing game plans or refining mechanics.
He wasn’t the quarterbacks coach. He wasn’t the offensive coordinator.
He wasn’t calling plays or overseeing Montana’s development. He was, essentially, part of the support staff.
So when McCarthy’s presentation frames that moment as the beginning of his quarterback development experience, it’s raised some eyebrows - and understandably so.
It’s not that McCarthy lacks a track record with quarterbacks. He’s worked with Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and Dak Prescott.
He’s seen high-level success, including a Super Bowl win with the Packers. His career spans decades in the NFL, with plenty of legitimate quarterback development stories to tell.
But pointing to Montana in Kansas City as the starting point of that journey feels like a stretch - and fans, especially those still skeptical of his hiring, haven’t missed the opportunity to call it out.
Ultimately, McCarthy’s legacy in Pittsburgh won’t be defined by what he said in a job interview or how he framed his early career. It’ll be about what he does now - how he handles a Steelers team in transition, how he develops their next quarterback, and whether he can bring playoff football back to a city that expects nothing less.
The noise around the hire is loud right now. But in Pittsburgh, winning has a way of quieting things down.