Mike McCarthy

Michael John McCarthy (born November 10, 1963) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. In 2011, McCarthy led the Packers to a win in Super Bowl XLV over his hometown Steelers. McCarthy was also the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints.

During his 17 seasons as a head coach in the NFL, McCarthy has an overall regular season record of 174–112–2. He is among only five head coaches (Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Andy Reid, and Bill Belichick) to lead one franchise to eight straight playoff appearances. McCarthy is second to Curly Lambeau in all-time wins leading the Packers.

Early life

McCarthy was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the blue collar neighborhood of Greenfield. His mother, Ellen McCarthy, was a secretary who also worked in restaurants and for the Peace & Justice Center. His father, Joe McCarthy Jr., was a firefighter for the Pittsburgh Fire Bureau and an officer for the Pittsburgh Police Department. He also owned a bar called Joe McCarthy's Bar and Grill, which Mike spent his Sundays cleaning before church. McCarthy was raised as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

McCarthy is one of five siblings. He has three sisters, Colleen, Ellen, and Kellie, and a brother, Joseph III (d. 2015). McCarthy attended St. Rosalia primary school, where he played basketball. McCarthy later made annual donations to the school. He attended Bishop Boyle High School.

Playing career and education

After high school, McCarthy initially went to Salem University (then Salem College) in West Virginia before returning home to work in his father's bar. In 1984, McCarthy attended Scottsdale Community College in Arizona, playing one season for the Fighting Artichokes football team. He then transferred to Baker University, an NAIA school located in Baldwin City, Kansas. McCarthy was a two-time all-conference tight end. In 1986, he was captain of the team, which finished the season as the national runner-up in NAIA Division II.

In 1987, McCarthy earned a bachelor's in business administration.

Coaching career

College

In 1987, Duane Dirk, the defensive coordinator at Fort Hays State University in Kansas, hired McCarthy as a defensive graduate assistant (GA). Over the next two years, McCarthy focused on linebackers and defensive ends. During his time as the defensive graduate assistant, McCarthy pursued a Master of Science degree, and he graduated with a master's in sports administration in 1989.

After serving as a graduate assistant at Fort Hays State from 1987 to 1988, McCarthy returned home to Pittsburgh. On July 30, 1989, McCarthy contacted Mike Gottfried, the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh, looking for a coaching job, but no positions were available. McCarthy was told to mail his resume, and he later showed up at Gottfried's office without an appointment to introduce himself. Two days later, one of Gottfried's assistants resigned, and McCarthy was offered a volunteer coach position without pay. McCarthy later worked under coach Paul Hackett.

McCarthy served as a graduate assistant for three seasons before coaching wide receivers during the 1992 season. Initially, he also worked the night shift on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as a toll collector during the off-season to supplement his income. McCarthy stated that he spent his time in the tollbooth reviewing the University of Pittsburgh playbook.

Kansas City Chiefs

In 1993, McCarthy and Paul Hackett left Pittsburgh and were hired by the Kansas City Chiefs under head coach Marty Schottenheimer. McCarthy worked two years as an offensive quality control assistant. As head coach of the Green Bay Packers, he hired six former quality control coaches to serve as his position coaches. In 1993 and 1994, McCarthy worked with Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana.

In 1995, McCarthy became quarterbacks coach for the Chiefs, overseeing Rich Gannon, Elvis Grbac, and Steve Bono. McCarthy's signal callers threw 52 interceptions – the lowest in the American Football Conference (AFC) – from 1995 through 1998.

Green Bay Packers

When Schottenheimer resigned from the Chiefs after the 1998 season, McCarthy left Kansas City and became the Packers' quarterbacks coach, where worked with Hall of Famer Brett Favre. In the 1999 season, while working with McCarthy, Favre threw for 4,091 yards, the fourth-best total of his career. While McCarthy was quarterbacks coach, the 1999 Packers team was ranked seventh in passing and ninth in overall offense in the league.

New Orleans Saints

In 2000, McCarthy was hired as the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. That year, the Saints achieved a 10–6 regular season record, then won their first playoff game in the franchise's history and finished 10th overall in offense. McCarthy was selected as National Football Conference (NFC) Assistant Coach of the Year by USA Today in 2000.

The Saints failed to make the playoffs over the next three years. In 2002, the Saints led the NFC in scoring with 49 touchdowns and 432 points, but slowed down at the end of the season. The following year, the Saints scored 340 points—their eighth highest-scoring season ever. All of McCarthy's four years with the Saints rank in the team's top 10 years for offense.

While McCarthy was with the team, the Saints’ offense set 25 individual and 10 team records. Joe Horn caught 45 touchdowns and 437 passes for 6,289 yards. During McCarthy's time with the team, running backs Ricky Williams and Deuce McCallister both had a 1,000-yard season. In his first two years, running back Ricky Williams would run for 2,245 yards with 14 touchdowns. McCarthy stayed with the team for five seasons through 2004.

San Francisco 49ers

In 2005, McCarthy served as offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers by head coach Mike Nolan. His unit had setbacks, including the trade of their most experienced quarterback, Tim Rattay. Rattay was replaced by a rookie quarterback, top draft pick Alex Smith, who was injured in Week 7 of the season.

The 49ers finished the season ranked 30th in the NFL in points scored and dead last in yards gained. Despite this, rookie running back Frank Gore would emerge to run for 608 rushing yards on 127 carries with a 4.8 Yards Per Carry (YPC) while wide receiver Brandon Lloyd had 733 yards receiving and five touchdowns.

Green Bay Packers (second stint)

2006–2009

After Mike Sherman took the Packers to a 4–12 record in 2005, the team fired him on January 2, 2006, and immediately started interviewing for a replacement. McCarthy was interviewed by Packers general manager Ted Thompson on January 8, and was offered the head coaching position three days later.

In 2006, the Packers started with a 4–8 record, but the team still managed to win their last four games after both quarterback Brett Favre and backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained injuries, finishing the season 8–8, ending with a victory over their archrival, the Chicago Bears.

McCarthy guided the Packers to an 8–1 record through the first nine games of the 2007 season, tying Washington's Joe Gibbs for the best win–loss ratio to start the first 25 games of a career at 16–9 and passing Vince Lombardi, who went 15–10, for the best coaching start in Packers' history. The team finished the regular season with a 13–3 record and obtained the number two seed in the NFC playoffs. McCarthy led the Packers to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl-winning New York Giants in overtime. After the 2007 season, McCarthy finished second in voting for The Associated Press Coach of the Year award, garnering 15 votes to Bill Belichick's 29 votes.

On January 19, 2008, McCarthy signed a five-year contract extension with the team, which raised his salary to $3.4 million a year. The 2008 season was a tumultuous one. Aaron Rodgers, previously the backup, became the starting quarterback when Brett Favre announced his retirement in March. Favre then changed his mind and sought his previous position as the Green Bay quarterback. The organization reiterated its intent to move forward with Rodgers as the new face of the Packers, although Favre was offered the backup position behind Rodgers. Favre refused the offer, and was traded to the New York Jets in exchange for a conditional fourth-round draft pick.

The 2008 season started with a 5–5 record, followed by five consecutive losses. The season ended with a 31–21 victory over the Detroit Lions, bringing the Packers' regular season record to 6–10. The Packers finished third in the NFC North, ahead of only the Lions, and did not make the playoffs. Under McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers threw for over 4,000 yards and posted a 93.8 passer rating.