Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is a fixture now in Upper Midwest, but that doesn’t mean that he’s forgotten his Western Pennsylvania roots. McCarthy, who grew up watching Chuck Noll coach the Pittsburgh Steelers in 70s, talked recently about the passing of the Hall of Famer.
“He was someone I like to emulate. I was a big fan as a kid,” McCarthy told the Associated Press. “After getting in to the coaching profession, I really appreciated him a lot more, his approach, his style, his humility. He seemed like a very consistent, tough champion.”
McCarthy also clearly understands what it means to give back as well as he and his wife have deep charity ties to the University of Wisconsin’s American Family Children’s Hospital. They have reportedly raised roughly $1.5 million over the last five years.
McCarthy has only won one Super Bowl so far and ironically it came against the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. At only 50, he will likely be in Green Bay for several more years and it won’t be surprise if he faces off again against his favorite childhood team once again.
It’s no surprise that McCarthy has had success in the NFL as a head coach and you can definitely see the influence that Noll has had on him in the way that he talks and carries himself both on and off the field. He’s one of the good ones.
