Many Steelers fans aren’t happy with the team’s decision to hire Mike McCarthy to be the successor to Mike Tomlin. Steelers owner Art Rooney II doesn’t care.
“We’re really not worried about winning the initial press conference,” Rooney said in extensive quotes posted on the team’s official website. “It’s about picking the coach we believe will help us win games, and social media really doesn’t enter into it. And none of that will matter once we’re starting to play games.”
So what is the message to the team’s fans?
“The message for our fans is we’re very excited,” Rooney said. “We think we have a coach who is well-equipped to lead us into the next winning phase of Steelers football, and that’s what it’s all about. I think they’re going to love Coach Mike.”
The article in which Rooney’s quotes appears acknowledges the consternation that has emerged as a result of the team’s break from its 57-year formula of hiring a first-time head coach with a defensive pedigree: “The chatter throughout Steelers Nation in the immediate aftermath of this hire has been largely negative,” writes Bob Labriola of Steelers.com.
And, yes, winning will change that. Losing, however, will prompt a strong and loud reaction. Even stronger and louder than the response to the news that the Steelers decided to hire the former Packers and Cowboys head coach.