Mike McCarthy inherited a playoff roster in Pittsburgh, but one that\u2019s approaching its expiration date in many ways. Many of the Steelers\u2019 best players will soon age out of the league, which presents a unique challenge to McCarthy in his first season with the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a real balance that homecoming Steelers coach Mike McCarthy will have to strike between managing an older roster and establishing his program\u2014generally, Year 1 isn\u2019t when you take the foot off the gas,\u201d Albert Breer wrote via SI.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n The defense in particular is loaded with players at or well above 30. Cam Heyward leads the way at 37. Joining him in the 30 club are T.J. Watt (31), Jalen Ramsey (31), and Sebastian Joseph-Day (31). DeShon Elliott (29), Jamel Dean (29), and Alex Highsmith (28) aren\u2019t far behind.<\/p>\n The offense skews much younger other than Aaron Rodgers, who is the player in the league at 42.<\/p>\n \u201cThe good news is McCarthy has always been willing to change and adapt to the conditions around him, and he\u2019s had veteran teams in the past, which tells me he\u2019ll have a good game plan\u2026Making sure that doesn\u2019t affect the rest of the team will be the tricky part,\u201d Breer wrote.<\/p>\n When Tomlin took over the Steelers in 2007, he held one of the most physically demanding training camps anybody had ever been through. He was trying to prove himself as a new, young head coach in the league. McCarthy doesn\u2019t have the same problem as an 18-year veteran head coach, but he\u2019s already shown signs of a high-intensity program in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n Coaches aren\u2019t allowed on the field until stretching and warmups are over, allowing for a full two hours of instruction<\/a>. And those two hours are much more jam-packed with teaching than the way Tomlin used to run things. There are no benches for resting, and every last minute is accounted for.<\/p>\n