Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy and Atlanta Falcons counterpart Kevin Stefanski fight for a winning debut Sunday as the Steelers host the Falcons in the season opener.
A connection to Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers offers at least one common denominator between retread head coaches anxious to begin the 2026 season with a victory.
McCarthy, a native of Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood, coached Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers for 13 seasons. Stefanski faced Rodgers twice as coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2025 and is plenty familiar with his work as a longtime offensive assistant with the Minnesota Vikings.
The Steelers are doubling down on the Rodgers-McCarthy bond as the quarterback enters his 22nd — and likely final — NFL season.
“We’ve got a good relationship, quarterback to play-caller,” Rodgers said. “There’s a lot of trust going both ways, and I’m excited about what it’s going feel like to hear his voice — very Pittsburghese voice — in my helmet again.”
Rodgers said he suggested that Pittsburgh give McCarthy a call after Mike Tomlin stepped down as coach after 19 seasons, with his final campaign producing a 10-7 record and an AFC North title.
The Steelers aimed to upgrade their attack by trading for wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to complement lead option DK Metcalf. Pittsburgh also added former Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle, who gained 130 or more yards in three games last season. Dowdle previously played for McCarthy with the Dallas Cowboys.
Defensively, the Steelers are approaching a self-imposed deadline to extend cornerback Joey Porter Jr.’s contract before the regular season begins. The team listed Porter Jr. as a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice due to a back injury.
Atlanta named veteran offseason addition Tua Tagovailoa as its starting quarterback earlier this week, with incumbent starter Michael Penix Jr. remaining inactive as he recovers from knee surgery.
Drafted in the first round by the Dolphins in 2020, Tagovailoa signed a one-year contract with the Falcons in March following his release from Miami. He has navigated concussions and inconsistency in recent seasons, with the Dolphins benching him for the last three games in 2025. Tagovailoa threw a career-worst 15 interceptions in Mike McDaniel’s offense.
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson will again anchor the ground game after rushing for a career-high 1,478 yards last season, along with seven touchdowns. Robinson expressed excitement about how the offense developed during the preseason.
“Now it’s just, we have a product, we’ve been doing it,” he said. “It’s been looking great in practice, but now it’s time to go put it to show and go have fun doing it.”
Teams that can’t stop Robinson might be in for a long day.
Falcons No. 1 receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts have 37 combined TD catches in their careers and are set for featured roles in Stefanski’s offense.
Albeit with some younger personnel, the defense has playmakers and some unproven talent. Rookies Avieon Terrell (second round) and Kendal Daniels (fourth) project to start at nickel cornerback and inside linebacker, respectively. Sixth-rounder Harold Perkins Jr. has a role in the linebacker rotation.
Stefanski, two-time NFL Coach of the Year in six seasons with the Browns, is confident in his first-year players’ capacity for growth.
“I think it’s certainly a misnomer to think that a rookie’s got it all figured out in Week 1,” he said. “I think all of those guys will be better in Week 4 than Week 1, and Week 8 than Week 4 and so on.”
–Field Level Media
