Things shook up quickly after the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered an early exit from the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs, as longtime head coach Mike Tomlin announced he was stepping down.
That created another head coaching vacancy in the league, which saw the Baltimore Ravens fire Jim Harbaugh, the Atlanta Falcons fire Raheem Morris, and the Cleveland Browns fire Kevin Stefanski, among other big coaching moves.
Many individuals speculated on who the next coach of Pittsburgh would be, to follow in the footsteps of Tomlin, Bill Cowher, and the legendary Chuck Noll, who each guided the team to one or more Super Bowl wins.
On Saturday, the Steelers officially agreed to a deal with Mike McCarthy, former head coach of the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. McCarthy had been the top name linked to the job, and will now inherit the roster with Aaron Rodgers’ future still unofficial.
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While some may be celebrating the moves, not everyone is on board with the Steelers’ hiring of McCarthy as coach. That includes former Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell, who spent six seasons with the team, playing in five of them.
Following the news, Bell took to X, posting a message that said, “4-13 incoming .. but hey, at least Mike Tomlin isn’t the coach of the Steelers anymore right?”
Bell’s message reads as part trolling and part wry prediction of one of the team’s worst seasons in a long time under McCarthy.
Tomlin, who coached the Steelers for 19 seasons, never had a losing season during his tenure. Pittsburgh reached the playoffs 13 times during his tenure, winning the Super Bowl in his second season.
McCarthy has a 174-112-2 overall record as a head coach. Unlike Tomlin, he had multiple losing seasons, including a 4-7-1 record in 2018 before the Packers fired him, and a 7-10 record in 2024, his final season as Cowboys coach.
However, McCarthy is also a Super Bowl-winning coach, as the Green Bay Packers won in 2011 with him at the helm and Rodgers as their star quarterback.
Rodgers just wrapped up his 21st season as the Steelers’ QB1, and some believe that was his final run in the NFL. However, there’s lingering speculation that he’ll return to reunite with his former coach, McCarthy, now that he’s coaching the Steelers.
If Rodgers doesn’t return, it will be interesting to see who McCarthy starts under center. Will the team make a big trade to land someone worthy of leading them, use the NFL Draft, or rely on a backup? Interestingly, Tankathon’s mock draft has Pittsburgh drafting Alabama QB Ty Simpson with their No. 21 pick.
The future remains uncertain as to how this next iteration of the Steelers will look, but it’s clear Bell is among many who feel the Steelers are headed towards an utterly disappointing 2026-27 NFL season following Tomlin’s and, potentially, Rodgers’ exits.
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