“I think it’s a great hire,” said Roethlisberger. “I think it’s smart for a few reasons. There’s something to be said about a Pittsburgh guy. I know that that’s not going to win games necessarily, but he understands what it is to bleed black and gold. I know he’s coached elsewhere, but you’re telling me that deep down inside him, he didn’t always have black and gold run through his veins a little bit. There’s something there.
“Is it going to win games? Probably not. But I used the analogy on my podcast that Miami of Ohio, right, my alma mater, I wanted them to hire a Miami guy, because you know he’s not using the stepping stone, you know he loves it, he wants to be there forever.
“Mike McCarthy, you could tell in his introductory press conference, this is a big deal for him. I know people will say, well, it’s a head coaching job, it’s a big deal for anybody. There’s just something there to it. You get a guy with a lot of heart, and I’ve used this analogy a million times. I’ll pick a lineman with less talent and more heart than more talent and less heart. And people go, well, why? Because there’s something that you can’t quantify. You can’t gauge heart.
“And Mike McCarthy has heart for this team, this city, this organization, Lombardi’s, and there’s something about that. I’m just telling you.”
McCarthy brings an offensive minded approach to the Steelers, after several defensive oriented head coaches, and that is something that excites Roethlisberger as well.
“I understand this team, and this city will always bleed defense and running the ball,” said Roethlisberger. “But at some point, you’ve got to keep up with the Joneses, and you got start scoring some points. And it doesn’t mean that you’re taking anything away from your defense. So that’s another reason I like this hire.
“And I would use this analogy and ask people this question. If you were going into a game or a season, say it’s a Super Bowl or it’s a full season, you had a veteran quarterback that you were excited about and all of a sudden that quarterback retired, got hurt, couldn’t play that year. Do you want to go get a quarterback that has maybe never played quarterback in the NFL? Young (guy), could have some great talent, but he’s unproven. You just don’t know. You might get a stud. But you just never know. Or would you rather have a quarterback who comes in that’s a veteran guy, that’s proven, that’s won somewhere before. He’s got experience. He knows what he’s talking about. And that’s who you want as your quarterback. That’s my question I would pose.”
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