Mike McCarthy, Steelers Agree to Contract to Replace Mike Tomlin, What's Next for Aaron Rodgers?

For the first time in nearly two decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a new head coach.

The Steelers announced Saturday that they have verbally agreed to terms for former Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy to take over for Mike Tomlin.

The big question now is if Aaron Rodgers, McCarthy's former quarterback in Green Bay, will stick around for another season before retiring:

The 62-year-old was the Cowboys' head coach from 2020 to 2024 and led Dallas to the postseason in three of his five years at the helm. Before his time with the Cowboys, McCarthy was the head coach of the Packers from 2006 to 2018, where he led the team to a Super Bowl during the 2010 campaign.

McCarthy has ties to Pittsburgh as he was born and raised in the city and spent four years as an assistant coach at Pitt.

Tomlin, who stepped down after the team's Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans, took over as Pittsburgh's head coach in 2007 and led them to a Super Bowl victory in just his second season. Tomlin once again took Pittsburgh to the Super Bowl in 2010, but the Steelers fell short against McCarthy's Packers.

After two Super Bowl appearances in his first four seasons, expectations were high for Tomlin, but he perhaps didn't live up to the standard he set early in his tenure. Following the Super Bowl appearance in 2010, Pittsburgh failed to reach another under Tomlin.

He also went on to win just three more playoff games, ending his time with Pittsburgh having lost seven consecutive postseason games.

Though Tomlin didn't find much success later in his tenure with the Steelers, he was almost always in the mix to compete for a championship, so expectations are perpetually high in Pittsburgh.

McCarthy will now step in and assume control of one of the league's premier franchises as he grapples with trying to keep the Steelers atop a competitive AFC North.