Steelers hire Mike McCarthy as head coach

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mike McCarthy’s homecoming is official.

The Pittsburgh native signed a contract to become the Steelers head coach on Tuesday. The club and McCarthy had reached a verbal agreement over the weekend.

The 62-year-old McCarthy, who grew up in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood, replaces Mike Tomlin. Tomlin stepped down earlier this month after 19 seasons with the Steelers.

Pittsburgh is McCarthy’s third stop as an NFL head coach. He has a regular-season record of 174-112-2 (.608) across 18 seasons, 13 with Green Bay and five with Dallas.

McCarthy’s postseason resume includes a victory over the Steelers in the Super Bowl following the 2010 season.

“This city, this franchise and this fan base mean the world to me — because Pittsburgh is my world,” McCarthy said in a statement before being introduced Tuesday afternoon.

McCarthy takes over a team that’s been in a holding pattern for the better part of a decade. Pittsburgh, whose current run of 22 consecutive seasons at .500 or better is the longest in NFL history, hasn’t won a playoff game since beating Kansas City in the divisional round in the 2016 season.

The Steelers went 10-7 and won the AFC North this season before being blown out at home by Houston in the opening round of the playoffs. Tomlin stepped down the next day, leading the franchise on just its third coaching search since it hired Chuck Noll in 1969.

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