Football
After a year out of football, former Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy lands on his feet in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have reached an agreement to hire Mike McCarthy as their next coach, the team announced. McCarthy is set to succeed Mike Tomlin while becoming only the team’s fourth head coach since Chuck Noll was hired way back in 1969. A Pittsburgh native, the 62-year-old McCarthy took the 2025 season off after spending the previous five seasons as the Dallas Cowboys‘ coach. Before that, he enjoyed a 13-year run as the Green Bay Packers’ coach that was highlighted by Green Bay’s victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
In 18 seasons as a head coach, McCarthy has compiled a 174-112-2 regular season record and an 11-11 record in the postseason. He’s coached in the playoffs 12 times, including in eight straight years from 2009-16. A former offensive coordinator, McCarthy helped develop quarterbacks Aaron Rodgersand Dak Prescott. Rodgers won a Super Bowl MVP and two league MVPs with McCarthy. In 2023, Prescott enjoyed arguably his best season as he led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes.
Speaking of Rodgers, the 42-year-old future Hall of Famer spent the 2025 season with the Steelers and played a key role in helping Pittsburgh record its record 22nd straight non-losing season. Pittsburgh would reportedly welcome Rodgers back if he decides to come back for a 22nd season. McCarthy is a departure from the Steelers’ usual hiring practices as Tomlin, Bill Cowher and Noll were all young, first-time head coaches with a defensive background. And in Tomlin, McCarthy is following some pretty big footsteps.
Tomlin, who stepped down a day after Pittsburgh’s loss to the Houston Texansin the AFC wild card round, won a Super Bowl and coached in another during his 19-year run in Pittsburgh. He led the Steelers to the playoffs 13 times (winning the AFC North eight times) and never had a losing season. The Steelers are coming off a third consecutive 10-7 season and their first division title since 2020. Pittsburgh also continued its nine-year drought without a playoff win following its 30-6 loss to Houston.
After hiring Christian Parker as defensive coordinator, the Cowboys aren’t done with talking with Philadelphia Eagles coaches.
FRISCO, Texas — With change atop the defensive totem pole in Dallas comes the likelihood of a shakeup beneath it, and the Cowboys are already preparing for a round of potential changes as they welcome Christian Parker to the organization as the team’s newest defensive coordinator. Also interviewing for that position, prior to Parker’s hiring, was incumbent defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, but there’s a chance he still lands the role, but for a different team — the Tennessee Titans requesting an interview with him following the naming of Robert Saleh as head coach.
“I’m just trying to live in the present,” Whitecotton said, speaking as a defensive coordinator of the East-West Shrine Bowl. “I’m so busy with this East-West game and what we’ve got going here in Dallas. I haven’t [interviewed with the Titans yet], so I haven’t really had a chance to go through that in my mind. The game has been an incredibly good distraction. “I don’t have to sit there and think about this or think about this, I’m working my butt off trying to get these boys ready to play. I think that’s kind of where my mind’s at right now.”
His mind will, of course, shift gears quickly in the next few days, and the Cowboys are looking into potential replacements, should Whitecotton accept a promotion elsewhere to become an NFL defensive coordinator for the first time in his coaching career.The organization has requested to interview Marcus Dixon, defensive line coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
Dixon, 41, has spent the last two seasons helping Brian Flores to elevate the defense in Minneapolis and who also spent time in the same role for the Denver Broncos, when Parker was the team’s defensive backs coach, and that relationship has swiftly led to the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator seeking him out. It is key to note that it would be a lateral move for Dixon, and that would normally give Flores the right to block the request, but it’s reported Dixon’s contract expired at the end of the season and, if true, he’s a free agent able to interview with whomever he so chooses.
How Parker’s hiring could have a much deeper impact.
The Dallas Cowboys have seemingly changed their ways. In their hunt for a new defensive coordinator, the club didn’t do what they normally do, allow Jerry Jones to override his head coach’s preference. New coordinator Christian Parker, former assistant with the Denver Broncos and the Philadelphia Eagles, is exactly what head coach Brian Schottenheimer described he was looking for in the team’s season-ending press conference.
Parker, 34, is Dallas’ first top defensive coach under the age of 49 since 1996. This club has always operated under the edict that the tried and true methodologies are more important than innovation on that side of the ball, so a shift after 30-plus years has to be the work of the head coach. And if Schottenheimer is right about Parker being able to revolutionize this moribund unit, the Cowboys can reap rewards for years to come.
Parker is regarded as a top tutor and elite tactician. If he’s able to elevate the play of the troops in Dallas, the results should be immediate. With the high-octane offense placed in the hands of a healthy Dak Prescott, there isn’t much concern for that side of the ball. Adding a strong defensive compliment should result in a return to the playoff picture.
The long-range concern, for a few, is that success will eventually lead to Parker being poached. For those who want to poopoo the idea, it’s part of the mentality the Jonese themselves have. Hire retread coaches who have failed as head coaches so that they won’t be attractive even if they find success back at the DC level in Dallas.
Many in the league feel like Parker’s meteoric rise is only taking a pit stop as a defensive coordinator. He’s seen as head coach material by many in the league circles, literally being on NFL.com’s future head coach watch list for the past couple of seasons. So if he turns around Dallas’ defense, the calls will come from a team that is looking for a new, young, innovative leader. And that’s a bonus (but not the impetus) of the Parker hire. The NFL’s 2020 expansion of the Rooney Rule will compensate the Cowboys if such a situation arises. The league, frustrated in the 32 teams unwillingness to escape from antiquated ways of hiring based on familiarity and nepotism, has enticed teams to hire more minority coordinators.
Safety first: What would the Cowboys be getting with Caleb Downs.
We continue our 2026 NFL Draft preview of draft prospects that could interest the Dallas Cowboys. Today we are looking at safety Caleb Downs from Ohio State.
Caleb Downs
SFY
Ohio State
Junior
5-star recruit
6’0”
205 lbsHistory
Caleb Downs grew up in Hoschton, Georgia and became the do-everything star at Mill Creek High School, lining up all over the field and making plays as a tackler and ballhawk. He comes from a real football family and he’s the son of former NFL running back Gary Downs, and his older brother is NFL wide receiver Josh Downs. The brothers have a podcast called “Downs 2 Business”.
As a recruit, Downs was viewed as a rare clean safety prospect who looked smart, athletic, and already polished. He was awarded a five-star recruit rating and was ranked the number one safety in the 2023 class. He committed to Alabama in July 2022 and joined the team in 2023.
His freshman season at Alabama was impressive and he instantly played like an upperclassman. He notched 107 tackles, three tackles for loss, two interceptions, four pass breakups, plus a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He also added value as a returner which includes a punt-return touchdown.
In his second season Downs transferred to Ohio State and the production stayed elite while the role got even more versatile. He finished with 82 tackles, 7.5 TFL, one sack, two interceptions, and six PBUs, plus he was a weapon on punt returns with six returns for 98 yards and one touchdown. During the team’s playoff run Downs was instrumental in helping the team win a National Championship. Across the four playoff games he racked up 20 total tackles, two tackles for loss, three PBU’s, and one interception.
His third season at Ohio State turned into the full trophy run. He made 68 tackles, five TFL, one sack, two interceptions, two PBUs, and two forced fumbles in 14 games. The accolades at the end of year came like a waterfall and Downs won every defensive and position award that year as well as All-America and first-team honours. During the three years playing college football, Downs never missed a single game due to injury.
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