The Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed, verbally at least, for former Green Bay and Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy to take up the same role at Acrisure Stadium.

McCarthy has been out of the NFL for the past year, having been replaced by Brian Schottenheimer in Dallas, but has established a solid reputation for reaching the playoffs at both of his previous stops, including winning Super Bowl XLV with Green Bay… against Pittsburgh. That occasion, at the end of the 2010 campaign, was also the last time either franchise made the season finale.

A native of the Steel City, McCarthy boasts a 185–123–2 (.600) career record as a head coach, having cut his teeth as offensive coordinator with both the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. He took up the HC reins in Green Bay in 2006 and spent 13 seasons with the Packers and, after a two-year hiatus, five more with the Cowboys.

While speculation has already linked McCarthy’s hiring to the possibility of Aaron Rodgers returning as quarterback next season — something that appeared unlikely when erstwhile HC Mike Tomlin stepped down earlier this month — it is equally plausible that, having shown the ability to develop QBs at both previous clubs, the Steelers are hoping that McCarthy will be able to nurture whatever talent they can bring in in future, be it through the draft or free agency.

While he has only one playoff win in the past 10 years, McCarthy has always exhibited the ability to take teams to the postseason, which bodes well for the Steelers’ ongoing streak of seasons above .500. However, he is not cast from the usual Steelers mold. Hiring a new head coach has been a rarity in Pittsburgh, but McCarthy’s predecessors were all in their 30s when handed the reins. He is 62.

Each of those to have gone before McCarthy also brought a Lombardi to the Steel City — and expectation the fanbase will no doubt hold over the new man. That fanbase, which had repeatedly called for Tomlin’s head as the Steelers endured one mediocre season after another, are already wondering whether the grass may have been greener where they were, calling McCarthy’s hiring ‘mid’ amongst other hot-take reactions.

According to TalkSport, even former Steelers star Le’Veon Bell is of the same opinion, the running back posting ‘4-13 incoming … but hey, at least Mike Tomlin isn’t the coach of the Steelers anymore, right?’ on his social feeds.