Mike McCarthy’s got the band back together. Like an Adam Sandler movie, all of McCarthy’s well-known assistants are with him in Pittsburgh. A Steelers’ coaching staff that looks similar to what McCarthy assembled in Green Bay, McCarthy is as excited as anyone to hire the names he’s worked with in the past.
“Oh definitely. We’re loving it,” McCarthy said of his coaching staff during a Friday radio appearance on ESPN’s Wilde and Tausch. “It’s just like anything. These friends for life that I was able to bring aboard. It means the world to me. Just for them to hear all the old stories, and now to see actually where it happened has been funny.”
Pittsburgh’s new-look staff bears a striking resemblance to McCarthy’s crew in Green Bay and Dallas. He’s hired 10 of his 20 on-field assistant coaches before: Brian Angelichio, Ramon Chinyoung, Adam Henry, James Campen, Frank Cignetti Jr., Patrick Graham, Domata Peko, Scott McCurley, Joe Whitt Jr. and Jason Simmons. He coached three others: Tom Arth and Jahri Evans in Green Bay, Danny Crossman while at Pitt. And Eric Simonelli was already on-staff and retained by McCarthy in Dallas, creating another tie-in.
In total, only a handful of names don’t have any clear links to McCarthy’s past. McCarthy thinks their teaching is just as value as their character.
“They’re not only great people, they’re great coaches,” he said. “And it’s exciting to build something new, but still have the lessons that we learned. Particularly in our time in Green Bay.”
As we studied earlier this month, it’s no surprise to see McCarthy or any veteran coach bring in a group of familiar names. They are people McCarthy is confident he’ll work with well and understand his style and coaching quirks. But it’s fair to wonder how “new” things will be in Pittsburgh, or if McCarthy is simply trying to tweak what he had before.
There are some great Happy Madison productions featuring Sandler and the gang. There are plenty of clunkers, too. Time will tell what kind of Siskel and Ebert review McCarthy gets for his casting choices.