The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired Mike McCarthy as their next head coach, following Mike Tomlin’s 19 seasons at the helm.
Pittsburgh is set to introduce McCarthy in a press conference on Tuesday at 2:00 P.M. EST. Before that, though, ESPN’s Adam Schefter has revealed whom the Steelers passed on in favor of McCarthy.
“The other two finalists were [Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator] Anthony Weaver and [Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores],” Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show.
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only did Schefter reveal who the respective runner-ups were, but he also added that team President Art Rooney II’s reluctance to rebuild played a big role in hiring McCarthy.
[Rooney] talked about the fact that he didn’t want to rebuild,“ Schefter said. ”And they’ve got a veteran team. And this is a team that won the division this past year. They won the division. They’re not ready to shut it down and rebuild. And so they felt that Mike McCarthy, who’s got the experience he does [and] who’s familiar with grooming quarterbacks could be helpful – either growing Mason Rudolph and Will Howard, or whoever they draft, or potentially, even, helping to lure back Aaron Rodgers.“
Considering Schefter pointed out Rooney’s desire to more or less stay the course rather than start over, it’s fair to wonder if Flores and/or Weaver laid out a plan of rebuilding that didn’t align with Rooney’s vision for the team, which led to McCarthy getting the job.
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