The Green Bay Packers hired Mike McCarthy as coach in 2006 in part for what General Manager Ted Thompson called his Pittsburgh toughness.
McCarthy, who returns to his hometown on Sunday with the Packers, grew up in the Greenfield neighborhood in Pittsburgh, part of the high school football hotbed of western Pennsylvania.
But what is Pittsburgh tough? And is McCarthy it?
Well, a look at McCarthy as a football and basketball player at the old Bishop Boyle High School in Pittsburgh might lend a clue.
According to football teammates, McCarthy was a physical, aggressive tight end who blocked well, was reliable on assignments and though not fast, had excellent hands. On the basketball court, he was an undersized forward who shot well from the wing, crashed the boards hard and played smart. In both sports, he was a worker and all business.
Didnt do a lot of talking. He was a man of action, said Ed McCallister, a basketball teammate of McCarthys who also briefly played football at Bishop Boyle. He was rough and physical, and he was skilled. He was athletic, obviously, and he was very competitive. He had a fire to him. I wouldnt call it a temper, Id call it a very competitive disposition. If you were off the court talking like you and I are, hes one of the nicest guys in the world. Youd be amazed, once you get on the court, the change.
A coachs personality filters down to his team in one way or another, but not always in the way teams expect. Former Packers GM Ron Wolf, for instance, hired Ray Rhodes in 1999 to rekindle the Packers toughness, and Rhodes produced anything but a tough team in his one season.
McCarthys Pittsburgh-learned toughness has shown in the Packers in some ways through four seasons. He had much more success than the previous coaching staff with reining in quarterback Brett Favre in 2006 and 2007 because he was more willing to confront Favre on his decision-making. That almost surely was a factor in Favres interception total dropping from 29 in 2005 to 18 in McCarthys first season, then to 15 in 2007.
This season, the Packers have toughed out a few close games in the fourth quarter, including after nearly losing a big lead against Baltimore two weeks ago and blowing a 13-point advantage against Chicago last Sunday. Against Baltimore, the Ravens two third-quarter touchdowns cut the Packers lead to three points, but the Packers won 27-14. Chicago led 14-13 going into the fourth quarter; the Packers won 21-14.
A hard-working, grinding guy, is how Randy Zilko, who was a running back at Bishop Boyle, described his teammate McCarthy as a high school football player. Good guy, good athlete, good teammate.
But in other ways, the Pittsburgh toughness hasnt manifested itself on the field.
In McCarthys four seasons as coach, the Packers havent had the kind of punishing run game he wants. This year, Green Bay ranks No. 13 in the 32-team NFL in rushing yards and No. 14 in yards per carry.
Defensively, in McCarthys first three seasons, though the Packers were physical in pass coverage at cornerback, they werent particularly stout against the run. They never ranked higher than No. 13 in rushing defense, and last season finished a disastrous No. 26.
That might have changed when McCarthy hired Dom Capers in January to coordinate his defense. Capers 3-4 scheme has been more physical and aggressive in the front seven against the run and rushing the passer. The Packers go into Sundays game against the Steelers with the No. 2 rushing defense in the NFL.
The defense is really the personality of Mike, said Dan Harris, who was offensive coordinator at Baker University in Kansas for the two seasons McCarthy played there. Its just a strong, hard-nosed, good-work-ethic type of defense.
McCarthy has talked about wanting the defense to be the identify of his team since he became coach, but hes ended up fielding offensive-oriented teams until this season, when the units have been more even.
McCarthy, who graduated from Bishop Boyle in 1981, grew up watching the Steelers teams of the 1970s and early 1980s, led by the famed Steel Curtain defensive line.
I know my history (is) as an offensive coach, McCarthy said Wednesday, but clearly when I became a head coach, I did not want to be known as a former quarterback coach that was a head coach. It definitely starts with defense. Thats always been my vision, and we feel like weve made strides towards that this year definitely. I think thats just part of growing up in western Pennsylvania.
The Packers penalty problems also raise a question. Harris said McCarthy wasnt penalized much as a player at Baker, but the Packers led the league in penalties and penalty yards last year and lead the league through 13 games this season. Is it a sign that McCarthy isnt tough enough on his team?
That surprises me, too, because thats not Mike McCarthy, and that has to be eating on him, Harris said. I see that watching the games. Mikes always got squinted eyes and a frustrated look (after a penalty), but then hes right back looking at the play sheet saying, What do I have to do now to get out of this mess?
McCarthy runs the Packers offense, and if the tough part of his personality hasnt filtered into the teams run game, the cerebral and detail-oriented part of his approach is a characteristic in the passing game.
In his two seasons at Baker, an NAIA school, McCarthy was a starting tight end for a run-oriented team that played for the national championship in his senior season. McCarthy caught 17 passes, including seven touchdowns, in his two seasons and was a key blocker because of his great upper-body strength and attention to detail.
Back then, it was 16-mm film, took forever to rewind and look at it, Harris said. But he took a lot of time to analyze his opponents. We had a pretty good offensive line, our preparation we did a good job analyzing opponents, but Mike was above and beyond that and was really good at making adjustments on the field. Mike almost was like a coach on the field on Saturday afternoons, Saturday nights. He could make adjustments, make line calls, do a lot of communication that really helped us a lot. Great blocker and very knowledgeable about the game of football.
When McCarthy went into coaching as a graduate assistant at Fort Hays State in Kansas, he worked on defense. He was going to take over that side of the ball in his second season when he received a graduate assistant's job at the University of Pittsburgh under coach Paul Hackett. Thats where he learned the West Coast offense and started on a career path that led to tutoring quarterbacks in that scheme.
McCarthy was at Pitt from 1989 to 1992, then moved to the NFLs Kansas City Chiefs. Now, he returns to Pittsburgh for the first time as Packers coach for a regular-season game. Its a business trip except for the three hours or so hell spend Saturday night at a Christmas dinner with his family.
But it also will be an extra-special game in his football-obsessed hometown.
Thats his stomping ground, thats his home turf, Harris said. I know he grew up being a (Steelers) fan, so thats got to be emotional.
"But one thing Mike can do is control his emotions real well and guide them in the right direction. Hell probably internalize that feeling about the game and not let it be a big deal with the team. Hes very aware of how he has to keep that team focused and not let it bother them.
"But down deep in his heart and soul, theres got to be a powerful sense of 'This is an important game for me personally, and Im going to keep it that way, just personal.'