These are not your father’s Steelers. Or your grandfather’s Steelers.
Per multiple reports, the Steelers plan to hire former Packers and Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy as the team’s next head coach.
The move breaks dramatically with the team’s history, since 1969, of hiring defensive coordinators with no prior head-coaching experience. It also parts ways with their longstanding practice of hiring younger coaches, with the apparent objective of keeping them around for a long time.
Chuck Noll coached the team for 23 years. Bill Cowher had the job for 15 seasons. Mike Tomlin recently resigned after 19 years. Each was a defensive specialist.
McCarthy, who has 18 years of head-coaching experience, has one Super Bowl appearance. It came 15 years ago, when his Packers beat the Steelers. (And it got a street named after him in Green Bay.)
A Pittsburgh native, McCarthy has a regular-season record of 174–112–2 and a postseason record of 11-11. Which gives him 310 more games of head-coaching experience than Noll, Cowher, and Tomlin had, combined, when they got the job.
And while one source called the move an upset on par with Villanova over Georgetown, there were indications that the Steelers would break from their formula of defensive-minded coaches. The game has changed dramatically since the Steelers hired Tomlin, 19 years ago. Offense means more than ever before, as does player safety.
Moving forward, the question will be whether the Steelers can extend their streak of nailing head-coaching hires to four in a row. However it plays out, it’s hard to envision the 62-year-old McCarthy sticking around for as long as Noll, Cowher, or Tomlin did.
Cowboys Clips
Word on Thursday was that the Cowboys were working to finalize a deal with Christian Parker to become their new defensive coordinator and that process has come to an end on Friday.
The Cowboys announced that Parker has agreed to a deal to join Brian Schottenheimer’s coaching staff in Dallas. Parker was the passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Eagles for the last two seasons.
This will be Parker’s first time as a defensive coordinator, which is a departure from recent history in Dallas. Matt Eberflus, Mike Zimmer, Dan Quinn, Mike Nolan, Rod Marinelli, Monte Kiffin, and Rob Ryan preceded Parker in that role and all of them had previous experience in the role.
After firing Eberflus, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that was not a prerequisite this time around and the Parker hire shows that he was telling the truth. Now they’ll get to work on building a unit that can do a better job than the one Eberflus put together in 2025.
The Cowboys have landed on their choice for their defensive coordinator vacancy.
NFL Media reports that they are working to hire Christian Parker to fill the role on Brian Schottenheimer’s staff. Matt Eberflus was fired after the Cowboys finished last in the league in points allowed.
Parker has been the defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator for the Eagles for the last two seasons. He’s also worked for the Broncos as a defensive backs coach and for the Packers as a defensive quality control coach.
The Packers also showed interest in bringing Parker back to fill their defensive coordinator vacancy, but they’ll have to go in a different direction now.
As part of the announcements for all AP award finalists, the NFL has revealed the five athletes who are up for comeback player of the year.
Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs, Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott are the five up for the award.
Diggs suffered a torn ACL midway through the 2024 season, but started all 17 games in 2025, catching 85 passes for 1,013 yards with four touchdowns.
Hutchinson suffered a season-ending leg injury in October 2024, breaking his tibia and fibula. He posted a career-high 14.5 sacks along with 14 tackles for loss, and 35 quarterback hits in 17 games for Detroit in 2025.
Lawrence started only 10 games in 2024 after dealing with multiple concussions last season. But he helped pilot the Jaguars to the postseason in 2025, starting all 17 games and passing for 4,007 yards with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
After playing only four games due to multiple injuries in 2024, McCaffrey led the league with 413 touches to help the 49ers reach the postseason. He took 311 carries for 1,202 yards with 10 touchdowns and caught 102 passes for 924 yards with seven TDs.
Finally, Prescott returned from a hamstring avulsion to start all 17 games, finishing the year with 4,552 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He led the league with 404 completions.
Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson was named to the NFC Pro Bowl Games roster on Wednesday, the NFL announced.
He replaces 49ers tight end George Kittle, who underwent surgery on his right Achilles’ tendon last week.
Ferguson is the sixth Pro Bowler for the Cowboys, joining Dak Prescott, George Pickens, Tyler Smith, Quinnen Williams and Brandon Aubrey.
Ferguson earned his first Pro Bowl in 2023, and now with two selections, he joins Jason Witten (11), Jay Novacek (five) and Billy Joe DuPree (three) as the team’s tight ends with multiple Pro Bowls.
The fourth-year tight end had career-highs in receptions (82) and touchdowns (eight).
Arizona’s Trey McBride is the other tight end on the NFC’s roster.
The 2026 Pro Bowl Games will take place in San Francisco next week with a variety of skilled competitions, including the annual NFC-AFC flag football showdown on Feb. 3.
Cornerback Trevon Diggs cleared waivers on Wednesday, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The Packers waived Diggs on Tuesday after 21 days with the team.
Green Bay had claimed him off waivers from the Cowboys on Dec. 31.
He played 33 defensive snaps in the regular-season finale against Minnesota when the Packers rested their starters. The Packers had him on the field for only one snap in the postseason loss to Chicago, and he received credit for a tackle after Bears wide receiver DJ Moore knocked Diggs on his back while blocking for Luther Burden, and Burden tripped over Diggs.
The Packers paid Diggs $472,000 in base salary for Week 18, plus $58,823 for him being active.
By cutting Diggs, who had three years left on his contract, the Packers saved just over $15 million against the cap.
Diggs made first-team All-Pro in 2021 when he led the league with 11 interceptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns. He made his second Pro Bowl in 2022, when he intercepted three passes. He has only three interceptions in the three seasons since.
He has played only 22 games since the start of the 2023 season because of knee injuries.
Former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon has completed his interview with the Cowboys, Josina Anderson reports.
Gannon now has another flight to catch.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Gannon will head to Green Bay this week to interview for the Packers’ defensive coordinator job.
The Packers also have Eagles passing game coordinator Christian Parker and Vikings passing game coordinator Daronte Jones on their list of candidates.
The Packers are seeking to replace Jeff Hafley, whom the Dolphins hired on Monday.
Gannon spent three seasons as the Cardinals’ head coach before the team fired him at the end of the season. He was 15-36 in his tenure with the Cardinals, including a 3-14 record in 2025.
Gannon earned his head coaching job after two seasons as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator. He has also worked for the Falcons, Titans, Vikings and Colts, although his time with the Eagles is his only experience as a defensive coordinator.
The Packers’ Trevon Diggs experiment has already come to an end.
Green Bay announced on Tuesday that the club has released Diggs.
Diggs was claimed off waivers in late December after he was released by the Cowboys. But he did not make an impact for the club.
While Diggs played 33 defensive snaps in the regular-season finale against Minnesota — during which the Packers rested their starters — he was on the field for just one snap in the postseason loss to Chicago.
Though he led the league with 11 interceptions in 2021, Diggs has played just 22 games since the 2022 season. He tore his ACL during practice in Sept. 2023 and underwent an additional surgery on his knee in Dec. 2024. He also dealt with concussion symptoms that landed him on injured reserve in 2025.
By releasing Diggs — who had three years left on his contract — the Packers will save just over $15 million against the cap.
Additionally, the Packers signed quarterback Kyle McCord and defensive lineman Jaden Crumedy to futures deals.
The Cowboys will interview former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon on Tuesday, Todd Archer of ESPN reports. They have Eagles passing game coordinator Christian Parker scheduled for an in-person interview on Wednesday.
The team has already interviewed Vikings defensive passing game coordinator Daronte Jones in person.
The Cowboys also have interest in Broncos passing game specialist Jim Leonhard, though his interview will have to wait, with the Broncos still in the postseason.
The Cowboys are seeking to replace Matt Eberflus, who was fired after one season.
The Cardinals fired Gannon last week after three seasons as the team’s head coach. He was 15-36 in his tenure with the team, including a 3-14 record in 2025.
Gannon earned his head coaching job after two seasons as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator. He has also worked for the Falcons, Titans, Vikings and Colts, although his time with the Eagles is his only experience as a defensive coordinator.
Parker has spent the past two seasons in Philadelphia working under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. The Eagles have finished as a top-10 defensive unit against the pass with Parker on staff.
After several college jobs, Parker landed his first role in the NFL with the Packers as a defensive quality control coach in 2019.
After two seasons in Green Bay, Parker joined the Broncos as the defensive backs coach.
The Cowboys have interviewed or will interview nine candidates for their defensive coordinator position. That might not be the entirety of their list.
“I think we’re in the initial run,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told Tommy Yarrish of the team website. “We’re going to cast a wide net, whether it’s half a dozen, 10, 12 coaches when it’s all said and done. I don’t know what that number will be, but then we’ll narrow it down. We’re already starting to narrow it down, and we’ll start to bring guys in for in-person interviews, some of the guys that we felt were the guys that would fit.”
The Cowboys are seeking to replace Matt Eberflus, whom they fired nine days ago. The defense ranked last in the NFL in scoring, and the 511 points that Dallas allowed were the most in team history.
The new coordinator will be the fourth in four seasons, following Dan Quinn, Mike Zimmer and Eberflus.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer said in his season-ending news conference that he wants a teacher and a communicator as his defensive coordinator. The new hire also needs to be passionate about football and have the ability to simplify complex information.
“When you have the interview, you look for those traits,” Jones said. “Are they a great teacher? Can they communicate and verbalize complicated things in a way that makes it easy for the players, so he doesn’t have to be out there thinking? He’s using his skill set and playing 100 percent, playing fast, playing reckless in terms of being able to make plays and not having to think about what his assignments are because he does have a great feel for what he’s supposed to do.
“All of those things are the traits that we’re looking for, and certainly we’re seeing that in a lot of the guys that we’re interviewing, and certainly looking for how they’re going to utilize some of the pieces we already have in place.”
They will seek to build around linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, defensive end Donovan Ezeirauku and defensive tackles Quinnen Williams, Osa Odighizuwa and Kenny Clark. With two first-round draft picks, the Cowboys could come away with two other starters on the defense.
The Cowboys do not have a timeline for completing the hire, Jones said.
The Cowboys have requested or have interviewed Packers defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington, Eagles pass game coordinator Christian Parker, Giants interim defensive coordinator Charlie Bullen, former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr, Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda, Vikings defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones, Broncos defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard and their own defensive line coach, Aaron Whitecotton.
