Beat Writer Believes Steelers Will See the Dividends from Mike McCarthy’s 2026 Training Camp Changes
This year marks a new era in Pittsburgh. The Steelers hired Mike McCarthy as their new head coach after Mike Tomlin stepped down in January. There have been some notable changes in training camp under McCarthy. Perhaps the biggest change is that there’s no more live tackling.
Mike DeFabo, beat writer for The Athletic, believes that this change will benefit the Steelers in the long run. He discussed it earlier this week on FS1’s The Herd. DeFabo explained, “Even though he’s advanced in his career and he’s established, he continues to look at the trends; and the reason he’s not tackling is because he doesn’t want guys to get injured.” He observed, “You look at Tomlin’s teams, routinely they fell apart near the end of the season.” DeFabo said, “I think at the end of the season, when the team is healthy, the team is fresh, you’re gonna see the dividends that are paid right there.”
Eliminating live tackling during training camp is nothing new. More than a decade ago, when Pete Carroll was their head coach, the Seattle Seahawks quit doing live tackling in training camp. The change seems to be working for them. The Seahawks won Super Bowl LX on February 8th, 2026. The Steelers and the Seahawks aren’t the only NFL teams with this approach to training camp. According to Sports Illustrated, the majority of NFL teams now avoid live tackling during training camp. Sports Illustrated’s Jacob Punturi noted, “Maybe that’s what McCarthy has taken notice of. As a coach who has worked both during the era of two-a-day practices and under the new and stricter Collective Bargaining Agreement rules, he has a unique understanding of how to train and improve a team.”
Rico Dowdle signed a two-year contract with the Steelers in March. He played under McCarthy in Dallas. He sees the similarities between McCarthy’s training camps in Dallas and Pittsburgh. On Tuesday, Dowdle said, “I think he does a good job scheduling and getting the work out of us that we need. He’s been doing it for a long time. I think his main thing is health, and just making sure guys are healthy going into the season.”
The Steelers haven’t had any serious injuries during training camp this year so far. They’ve had a few minor injuries, notably Max Iheanachor and Brandin Echols. Iheanachor suffered a minor upper-body injury, and he’s slated to return within the coming week. Echols injured his ankle, and he was wearing a boot on Saturday. The no live tackling approach McCarthy implemented appears to be working.
