(File Photo: Source for Photo: Mike McCarthy, center, poses for a photo, after being introduced as the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers by team owner Art Rooney II, left, and general manager Omar Khan, right, in Pittsburgh Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The tears started early for Mike McCarthy. Really early.

Considering the setting, it was hard to blame him.

There the kid who grew up rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers from his family’s home in the city’s Greenfield neighborhood was on Tuesday, sitting on dais wearing a black suit with a gold tie, a Steelers pin affixed to his lapel.

The job McCarthy always wanted, but never let himself imagine he would get, his at last.

“I thought I’d at least be able to get started,” the new Steelers head coach said, trying unsuccessfully to choke back his emotions while looking at a wide swath of the McCarthy family spread across the first few rows of a posh club inside Acrisure Stadium.

Nope.

McCarthy collected himself then gamely soldiered on. Yes, the feel-good vibes of his homecoming are undeniable to a man who admits “Pittsburgh is my world.”

Yet the 62-year-old is only too aware of why the Steelers hired him to replace Mike Tomlin, who stepped down earlier this month after 19 seasons.

The “obvious” choice

The trophy case inside the team’s facility just a couple of miles away from where McCarthy grew up at 1137 Greenfield Avenue has remained frozen in time for nearly two decades and counting. McCarthy’s handiwork is part of that drought after he led the Green Bay Packers over the Steelers in the Super Bowl 15 years ago.

Neither McCarthy nor his hometown team have been back since. The clock is ticking.

“It’s time to bring another championship back to this great city,” McCarthy said.

One that grew increasingly antsy during the final years of Tomlin’s tenure as solid if unremarkable regular seasons were followed by largely noncompetitive playoff losses, the last a 30-6 blowout at home to Houston two weeks ago that set the stage for Tomlin’s abrupt exit.

The Steelers, conducting a head coaching search for just the third time since hiring Chuck Noll in 1969, interviewed a wide swath of candidates, many of them the kind young assistants in the vein of Noll, Tomlin and Bill Cowher, all of whom arrived in Pittsburgh as relative unknowns and left with Super Bowl rings and Hall of Fame-worthy resumes.

Ultimately Pittsburgh turned to the one candidate who understands better than most how the team is hard-wired into the city’s DNA, one who also happens to have a Super Bowl ring of his own and a long track record of churning out teams capable of competing for a title.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was an obvious decision for us,” said Steelers president Art Rooney II, who noted McCarthy’s hiring became official on the 125th birthday of franchise patriarch Art Rooney Sr.

Rooney II admitted his grandfather would have loved bringing McCarthy home, though he stressed McCarthy’s deep roots “had little to do” with making him just the club’s fourth head coach in 57 years.

“We had an open mind about it I think and really just said, ‘We found the best coach,’” Rooney II added.

Not ready to walk away

A coach who thinks he still has plenty left.

McCarthy went 185-113-2 (.608) across 18 seasons (playoffs included) with Green Bay and Dallas. His tenure in Dallas ended after an injury-marred 7-10 finish in 2024 led to a parting of ways. He took 2025 off to reconnect with his family, though the urge to coach never left.

The circadian rhythms of an NFL season are difficult to shake. He could feel time start to speed up when teams reported for training camp last summer, and even as he leaned into his somewhat unexpected break, he knew he wasn’t finished.

“I’m not ready to walk away from this,” McCarthy said. “To have this opportunity, it just seemed like it was meant to be on so many different levels.”

He called the 72 hours after reaching a verbal agreement with the Steelers “a whirlwind” that tugged at both the heartstrings and the daunting task ahead as he tries to assemble a coaching staff.

McCarthy figures he’s received twice as many texts of support as he did when he led the Packers to a title, though he knows the honeymoon will be short if he can’t find a way to return the Steelers to legitimate contention in the AFC.

While Pittsburgh’s current run of 22 seasons of finishing .500 or better are an NFL record, the club also hasn’t won a playoff game since beating Kansas City in the divisional round in the 2016 season, tied with Atlanta for the sixth-longest active streak in the league.

A Rodgers reunion?

McCarthy is inheriting a team with a talented — if expensive — defense and an offense filled with question marks, most notably at quarterback. Rookie Will Howard and veteran backup Mason Rudolph are currently the only two players at the game’s most important position under contract for next season.

Aaron Rodgers, who spent 13 seasons alongside McCarthy in Green Bay, will become a free agent in March after helping the Steelers win the AFC North at age 42. McCarthy certainly seems open to a reunion.

“Definitely,” McCarthy said. “I don’t see why you wouldn’t.”

Rodgers said near the end of his 21st season that he would take some time to decompress and meet with his inner circle before deciding whether to try and return in 2026. The four-time MVP believes he’ll have options if he wants and pointed out it would be easier to play in an offense he already knows. McCarthy’s hire assures that would be the case in Pittsburgh.

McCarthy plans to call the plays as he has throughout his coaching career and wants to keep the same 3-4 defensive scheme the Steelers have been using for decades, noting he’s just had one defense ranked in the top five during his head coaching career. It also happened to be the same season the Packers won the Super Bowl.

There’s a long way to go before that happens in Pittsburgh. There are plenty of questions that need to be answered in the coming weeks and months, including whether this offseason is the one the Steelers try to find the franchise quarterback they’ve lacked since Ben Roethlisberger’s prime in the 2010s.

The work has already started, though McCarthy did take a brief moment on the first official day of what could be his final head coaching stop to take it all in. He posed for pictures surrounded by the family that still calls him “Michael,” the one dutifully moved their NFL allegiances in lock-step with his career, the one that will be there for him in Greenfield no matter how this goes.

“We can finally, hopefully, wear our Steelers swag, so let’s get it,” McCarthy said. “My heart is full.”

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner, bottom center, stops Vancouver Canucks’ Brock Boeser, back right, as Penguins’ Sidney Crosby (87) and Bryan Rust (17) defend during third-period NHL hockey game action in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust has been suspended three games for an illegal check to the head of Vancouver’s Brock Boeser.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced the ban Tuesday following a disciplinary hearing with Rust, who will be out Thursday against Chicago, Saturday against the New York Rangers and Monday against Ottawa. He’s eligible to return next Tuesday at the Islanders.

Rust lifted his right shoulder into Boeser’s head in the final seconds of the Penguins’ game at the Canucks on Sunday, which they won 3-2. Boeser is out at least a week after going on injured reserve.

Rust will forfeit $80,078 in salary with that money going to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

(File Photo of the WPIAL Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) The WPIAL announced after the last regular season wrestling duals of the 2025-2026 season on Thursday that the brackets for the WPIAL Class 2A and 3A team wrestling championships were revealed. The pigtail rounds of this tournament start tomorrow and several local teams will compete to try to make it to the championship duals on January 31st, 2026. According to a report from TRIB Live, here is the full schedule of tomorrow’s matches, with the local teams in bold:

Class 3A

Preliminary round

Peters Township vs. Shaler at Franklin Regional, 4:30 p.m.

Baldwin vs. Penn-Trafford at Connellsville, 4:30 p.m.

Belle Vernon vs. Mars at Canon-McMillan, 4:30 p.m.

Armstrong vs. Seneca Valley at Norwin, 4:30 p.m.

First round

Peters Township/Shaler winner at Franklin Regional, 6 p.m.

Thomas Jefferson vs. Moon at Franklin Regional, 6 p.m.

Kiski Area vs. North Hills at Connellsville, 6 p.m.

Baldwin/Penn-Trafford winner at Connellsville, 6 p.m.

Belle Vernon/Mars winner at Canon-McMillan, 6 p.m.

Latrobe vs. North Allegheny at Canon-McMillan, 6 p.m.

Trinity vs. West Allegheny at Norwin, 6 p.m.

Armstrong/ Seneca Valley winner at Norwin, 6 p.m.

Class 2A

Preliminary round

Knoch vs. Southmoreland  at Burrell, 4:30 p.m.

Avonworth vs. Freedom at Laurel, 4:30 p.m.

Bentworth vs. Keystone Oaks at McGuffey, 4:30 p.m.

Highlands vs. Central Valley at Derry, 4:30 p.m.

First round

Knoch/Southmoreland winner at Burrell, 6 p.m.

Quaker Valley vs. Beth-Center at Burrell, 6 p.m.

Jefferson-Morgan vs. Avella at Laurel, 6 p.m.

Avonworth/Freedom winner at Laurel, 6 p.m.

Bentworth/Keystone Oaks winner at McGuffey, 6 p.m.

Chartiers-Houston vs. Burgettstown at McGuffey, 6 p.m.

Elizabeth Forward vs. Greensburg Salem at Derry, 6 p.m.

Highlands/ Central Valley winner at Derry, 6 p.m.

The quarterfinals will follow the first-round matches at 7:30 p.m.

(File Photo of the University of Pittsburgh Seal)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Pitt football recently revealed its 2026 college football schedule. The Panthers Atlantic Coast Conference slate at home includes opponents of Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Syracuse, while they will travel to face ACC foes Boston College, California, Louisville, Miami (Florida) and Virginia Tech on the road. Pitt has also announced that during the 2026 season in non-conference action that it will host three games, Miami (OH), Central Florida and Bucknell. You can access the full 2026 schedule for Pitt College Football by clicking here.

(File Photo of Rochester Area School District Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Rochester, PA) After its virtual school board meeting yesterday, the Rochester High School board approved three new coaches to lead three of its sports programs. Brian Burton will be the next head football coach, Michael Patsch will be the next baseball head coach and Cassandra Colon-Maldonado be the next girls volleyball head coach for Rochester High School. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – The nation office of the NCAA is shown in Indianapolis on March 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) A man named Shane Hennen, formerly of Pittsburgh, is accused of being the ringleader of a large point shaving scheme that has turned the world of college basketball upside down. An indictment was revealed in Philadelphia on January 15th, 2026 and it involved betting on NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association Games and rigging them. This investigation has implicated twenty-sixpeople whichincludes over a dozen college basketball players who allegedly tried to fix games. Shane Hennen was a pool-hustler, a gambling fixer who was petty and a suspected drug dealer in the Steel City. Hennen got into a tussle outside a nightclub in the South Side of Pittsburgh in 2009 with a former Duquesne Dukes basketball player, who accused him of cheating on a gambling debt. Hennen then pled guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to 18 to 36 months in prison. According to federal prosecutors, he moved to Philadelphia, where in 2022, he was accused of hatching the point shaving scheme with two other people. The trio are accused of fixing games in the Chinese Basketball Association, where they celebrated their early success before it spread to the NCAA games.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Arthur Smith, offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is pictured before a preseason NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/ Gene J. Puskar, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Saturday that Ohio State University is finalizing a deal to make Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith its offensive coordinator. Smith replaces Brain Hartline, who will become the head coach at the University of South Florida. Smith spent the past two seasons with the Steelers of Mike Tomlin’s staff. Prior to that job, he was the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons. Smith had a 21-30 record with the Falcons over three seasons.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy waves during halftime of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke, File)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mike McCarthy is coming home.

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced Saturday the club has reached a verbal agreement with McCarthy to replace Mike Tomlin as head coach.

McCarthy grew up in the Greenfield neighborhood, just a couple of miles away from the team’s practice facility on the city’s South Side.

The 62-year-old McCarthy is 185–123–2 (playoffs included) across 18 seasons, 13 with Green Bay — which beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl following the 2010 season — and five with Dallas.

His potential hire is just the fourth by the Steelers since 1969 and a marked departure from his predecessors, Tomlin and Hall of Famers Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher.

All three were largely unknown assistants/coordinators. McCarthy is hardly that.

McCarthy would replace Tomlin, who stepped down earlier this month after his 19th season ended with a seventh straight playoff loss, this one at home to the Houston Texans. Tomlin’s surprise departure came as he was under contract for 2026 with a club option for 2027.

The Steelers took a methodical approach, interviewing nearly a dozen candidates that spanned a wide spectrum of experience, from Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores (who spent 2022 as a defensive assistant on Tomlin’s staff) to Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who was hired by the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday to replace John Harbaugh.

They ultimately landed on McCarthy, who takes over a team that has been stuck in a purgatory of sorts for going on a decade.

Tomlin’s nearly two-decade tenure included 193 regular-season victories — tied with Noll for the most in franchise history — and the team’s sixth Super Bowl. Perhaps most remarkably, Pittsburgh didn’t have a losing season with Tomlin on the sideline.

That startling consistency, however, did not always translate to postseason success. Pittsburgh has been one-and-done in each of its last six playoff appearances, all of them double-digit losses.

In some ways, the Steelers have been victims of their own success. They have frequently been drafting in the high teens and low-20s, not exactly a prime position to find a franchise quarterback. It didn’t help that they chose not to draft Ben Roethlisberger’s replacement in his final seasons, then whiffed badly on Kenny Pickett, who flamed out in less than two years after being taken in the first round of the 2022 draft.

It’s led to a revolving door at the most important position on the field. If Aaron Rodgers, who will be a free agent in March, doesn’t return for a 22nd season, the Steelers will have their sixth different Week 1 quarterback in six years. McCarthy’s arrival, however, would seemingly open the door for the 42-year-old Rodgers to come back.

Rodgers said earlier this month he believes he would have at least a couple of options if he chose to run it back one more time, and his long partnership with McCarthy in Green Bay included a Super Bowl victory over Tomlin and the Steelers. Pittsburgh will have the 21st pick when a draft that appears to be thin in quality options at quarterback descends on the Steel City in late April.

There’s a very real chance the Steelers, who currently only have veteran backup Mason Rudolph and 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard under contract for next season, will kick the can down the road again and address a handful of other positions of need in the draft, namely wide receiver and cornerback.

Regardless, president Art Rooney II brushed off the idea of the Steelers rebuilding.

“I don’t like that word that much,” Rooney said the day after Tomlin resigned. “We’ll try to compete day one if we can.”

McCarthy’s potential arrival would indicate that’s still the plan.

His hire would also give McCarthy a chance to burnish a resume that stalled a bit after guiding the Packers from a wild-card berth to the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl in 2010.

McCarthy is just 6-9 in the playoffs since the confetti fell at AT&T Stadium. That includes a 1-2 mark with the Cowboys, where he posted three straight 12-win seasons from 2021-23 before being fired after Dallas tumbled to 7-10 in 2024 thanks in large part to an injury to quarterback Dak Prescott that limited him to just eight games.

The one thing McCarthy — who early in his career was a graduate assistant at the University of Pittsburgh (which now shares a building with the Steelers) — has consistently done is put together offenses that can move the ball.

McCarthy-coached teams have finished in the top 10 in yards in 12 of his 18 seasons, though his first years in both Green Bay in 2006 and Dallas in 2020 were sluggish.

The Steelers have been stuck in a transition period on offense for a solid half-decade. That transition may soon move to an expensive and aging defense that has potential Hall of Famers at every level (defensive tackle Cam Heyward, linebacker T.J. Watt and defensive back Jalen Ramsey), all in their 30s.

McCarthy would be the first Steelers hire with previous NFL head coaching experience since Mike Nixon in 1965. Nixon lasted just one season in Pittsburgh and was fired after going 2-12. Nixon was replaced by Bill Austin, who made it three years before Pittsburgh hired Noll, a decision that transformed the franchise from a laughingstock into one of the league’s most successful and stable teams.

Noll and his four Super Bowls set a standard of excellence that Cowher and Tomlin maintained in their own unique ways.

That standard, however, had slipped of late. McCarthy’s mandate will be returning some of the luster to a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since the final days of the Barack Obama administration.

It will also provide a test of sorts for the hometown boy who made good, who now gets to find out whether you can truly go home again.

(File Photo: Source for Photo:  Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy walks on the field following an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. The Commanders won 23-19. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Sources are telling ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the Pittsburgh Steelers are planning to hire Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy as their next head coach. McCarthy will succeed Mike Tomlin, who stepped down as the head coach of the Steelers on January 13th, 2026 after nineteen seasons with the team. McCarthy, a native of Greenfield, was the head coach for the Green Bay Packers when Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers played for the Packers when they won Super Bowl 45 against the Steelers on February 6th, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. McCarthy was the head coach of the Packers from 2006-2018, and then after a hiatus in 2019, he was hired by the Cowboys and coached them from 2020-2024. The sixty-two-year-old McCarthy worked with Steelers general manager Omar Khan in New Orleans in 2000 but he did not coach in the NFL this season. McCarthy will become only the fourth head coach the Steelers have hired since 1969, following in the footsteps of Pro Football Hall of Famers Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher, as well as the aforementioned Mike Tomlin.