Dawn of a new day: McCarthy trying to continue Steelers aura
NFL: Atlanta at Pittsburgh
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PITTSBURGH -- Mike McCarthy headed home to Pittsburgh.
Kevin Stefanski headed south to Atlanta.
Both have been tasked with helping their respective franchises take the next step, though at wildly different speeds.
The 62-year-old McCarthy, who grew up only a mile or two from the Steelers' training facility, replaced Mike Tomlin as head coach in January, well aware of the lofty expectations that come with a job only three other men have had since 1969.
"That lays on me every single day," McCarthy said ahead of Sunday's opener against Atlanta.
Time to see how heavy for a team that, as always, expects to win now.
Outside of replacing most of the coaching staff, Pittsburgh made mostly subtle tweaks after winning the AFC North last winter. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is back for a 22nd -- and he stressed final -- season. The offensive line is shuffled a bit, but the defense returns nearly everyone from a unit that, while aging in places, remains effective when healthy.
McCarthy's grace period will be short. He knows the "hometown boy made good" narrative only goes so far if victories don't follow, and follow quickly. He's quietly bullish on a team that is nearing a decade since its previous playoff victory.
The drive to Acrisure Stadium will surely be special. One of the goals for McCarthy and everyone else on the Pittsburgh sideline is to not let the newness of everything become too much.
"Biggest challenge for Week 1 is clearly playing within yourself, especially for new staff, new players," he said. "We spent a tremendous amount of time and energy of detailing how we want to play schematically, most importantly fundamentally and I think the biggest challenge in Week 1 is sticking to your fundamentals."
The stakes are a little different for the 44-year-old Stefanski, who is starting over with the Falcons after the most successful stint by a coach in Cleveland since the franchise rejoined the league in 1999. While finding a way to return to the playoffs in an underwhelming NFC South would be nice, Stefanski's first order of business is setting the foundation for a team that hasn't reached the postseason in nearly a decade.
Not that Stefanski is in any mood to get ahead of himself.
"The excitement of a new season with the reality that you have 17 weeks to go," he said. "It's not my quote, but I've heard this quote: that it is not a marathon, it's 17 sprints."
The Falcons could have started that sprint with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. However, Tagovailoa left practice Thursday with an oblique injury. Cooper Rush and rookie Jack Strand are the backups..
"I don't think for myself and what I believe I don't have anything to prove to anyone outside," Tagovailoa said earlier in the week. "It's to prove to my own self that I can continue to play at a high level."
The biggest question for the Steelers is the status of cornerback Joey Porter Jr. The 26-year-old is entering the final season of his rookie deal and wants a new contract. The two sides don't appear to be particularly close, and Porter has been noncommittal on whether he'll take the field if he doesn't sign one before the season starts.
Porter's teammates, including defensive tackle Cam Heyward and defensive back Jalen Ramsey, want him to get paid. Regardless of whether Porter's in the lineup or not, the expectation will be for the start of the McCarthy era to pick up right where Tomlin's left off, and then some.
The Falcons did find out late on Friday that Tagovailoa was ruled out on Friday with an oblique injury suffered in Thursday's practice. Rush is now the starter and Stefanski says undrafted rookie Jack Strand will be the backup.
Stefanski said Friday Penix was never an option for Sunday's game, even after Tagovailoa's injury.
"No. Mike will be ready when he's ready," Stefanski.
The Falcons signed Rush on July 29 after Tagovailoa opened training camp with tightness in his lower back.
Rush, 32, has played in 42 NFL games, including 16 starts in eight seasons, seven with Dallas. The Cowboys went 4-4 in Rush's eight starts in 2024 and Baltimore was 0-2 in his two starts last season.
Rush will be asked to take over the offense after spending little time with the starters during training camp and the preseason.
"That's the life of a backup quarterback," Stefanski said. "There's been great guys over the course of history that do an excellent job of staying ready so they don't have to get ready and step in. The reason you're able to do that is because you work so hard in the meeting room and on the practice field to stay up to speed.
"Now, in an ideal world, would you love to have gotten every rep? Of course. That's a no-brainer. But, I do think there's examples of guys that come in with no reps, and sometimes it's after the first play, sometimes it is on play 59, whatever it is. And you're expected to compete, and you're expected to hold the standard of the room, in this case, the quarterback room. So Cooper's been a backup in his career. He's been the starter. He knows how to prepare."
Tagovailoa bent over in obvious discomfort after throwing a pass during a portion of Thursday's practice open to media and grabbed his right side. He dropped to the ground for a few seconds before getting up and trying to shake off the injury. He was listed as a limited participant.
Stefanski wouldn't characterize the severity of Tagovailoa's injury or speculate if he might miss multiple games or Penix might be ready next week.
"Disappointed for him, obviously," Stefanski said of Tagovailoa. "He's a very competitive person, so disappointed. But he's gonna rally behind Coop and do everything he can to help Coop."
Stefanski said he couldn't remember having two top quarterbacks inactive for the opening game of a season. When a reporter suggested the scenario was unbelievable, Stefanski said "Not for me."
Tagovailoa's injury robs him of the opportunity to make his Falcons debut at Pittsburgh, the same spot where he made the last start of his rocky final season with Miami.