The results are in.Over the past two weeks, we asked fans to give us their thoughts on Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers, Art Rooney II and more. We had 1,865 people participate in the poll. (Not every person answered every question, so the response numbers vary.)Some of the major takeaways: Fans were overwhelmingly ready for Mike Tomlin to move on (more than 77 percent) but split on which coach should have replaced him. Readers feel about the same way the players do about general manager Omar Khan.The Steelers signed Nick Herbig. Is Joey Porter Jr. next?Mike DeFaboOn Friday, we’ll unveil Part II of this survey, with a focus on Rooney and expectations for the 2026 season. But for now, let’s dive into the first batch of your responses.Rooney said shortly after Tomlin resigned that he would have been willing to give the coach at least one more year. Just 22.8 percent of respondents agreed (though 12.1 percent said they wished Tomlin would have stuck around for several more years). More than 77 percent said it was time for Tomlin to go.Fans were relatively split on this question. More than 34 percent agreed with the hire. About 30 percent of respondents were against the hire. More than a third of respondents (35.4 percent) appear to be keeping an open mind, responding that they’re “neutral.”Respondents were fairly evenly split among four candidates: Chris Shula (24.2 percent), McCarthy (22.4 percent), Nate Scheelhaase (21 percent) and Brian Flores (19.9 percent). Anthony Weaver, one of three candidates to get an in-person interview, received only 2 percent of the votes. Of the “other,” Klint Kubiak and Klay Kubiak were the most common answers. Many said they don’t know or answered “someone young.”More than half of respondents gave Khan a B (53.6 percent). Nearly 30 percent gave him a C, 8.6 percent gave him a D and 1.2 percent gave him an F. Only 6.9 percent gave him an A. Using a weighted average typical in most schools (4 for an A, 3 for a B, 2 for a C, 1 for a D, 0 for an F), Khan’s grade point average is a 2.6. That would give him a C+.Joey Porter Jr. hasn’t received a contract extension yet, but of the 1,841 people who responded to this question, 36.3 percent said he has been the best pick of the Khan era. Selected with the No. 32 pick in 2023 (the first pick of the second round because the Dolphins forfeited their pick), he has been one of the best players of Khan’s first NFL Draft class. Porter may be getting extra points from fans for the value and the fact that Khan traded Chase Claypool to acquire the pick he used to select Porter.Zach Frazier, a 2024 second-round pick who started from Day 1, received 27.3 percent of the vote. He has similarly brought a nice mix of production and value. Nick Herbig, a 2023 fourth-round pick who just earned a new four-year, $100 million extension, got 21 percent of the vote.Of the 1,845 people who responded to this question, most were divided into two categories. Almost 40 percent said QB play, and about 39 percent said coaching. Of the 6 percent who answered “other,” many specified “all of the above.”The quarterback is underwater on this question; 42.3 percent were against Rodgers returning for a second season (with 22.6 percent saying they disagreed with the decision and 19.7 percent saying they strongly disagreed). About 38.8 percent responded that they were in favor of Rodgers’ return (with 30 percent saying they agreed with the move and 8.8 saying they strongly agreed).Of the 1,849 respondents, 62.4 percent said they did not want the Steelers to sign Aaron Rodgers last year. However, 48.2 percent of those who said they did not want Rodgers acknowledge that the QB has met expectations. Only 4.2 percent of those who wanted the Steelers to sign Rodgers said they believed that he did not meet expectations.Asked to pick a starting QB, nearly half of voters went with the same decision the Steelers made. Will Howard received 27.1 percent of the vote, Mason Rudolph got 16.9 percent, and 3 percent chose rookie Drew Allar. About 2 percent of people said Malik Willis, and less than 1 percent said Kirk Cousins. Of the remaining voters, the majority said they didn’t know.The majority said they would keep only Rodgers, Howard and Allar, with Rudolph the odd man out. Almost 20 percent said they’d keep all four. About 14 percent would keep Rudolph and Allar as the backups to Rodgers. The remaining 8.2 percent said they’d keep Howard and Rudolph as the backups to Rodgers. That feels unlikely because trying to pass Allar through to the practice squad could cause the Steelers to lose the third-round pick.Fans appear to be confident that the long-term answer is coming in 2027: 52.3 percent said they believe the next Steelers franchise QB will be drafted next spring. More voters were confident in Allar (19.2 percent) than in Howard (13.7). The remaining 15 percent said “other,” with a handful of votes for Baker Mayfield and many people saying they don’t know.About 45 percent said McCarthy’s experience working with QBs is the most exciting part about the hire, and 35.7 percent said his offensive reputation. As for the rest of the voters, 8.1 percent said the coaching staff, 3.1 percent said the Greenfield native’s local connection and 3.1 percent said his history with Rodgers.Fans were pretty split among three answers: QB options (29.1 percent), his age (25.8 percent) and his recent playoff history (24.3 percent). The next-most-common answer (12.6 percent) was the roster he inherited, while a small minority (1.1 percent) didn’t like the coaching staff he’s assembled. Of the remaining 7 percent, about half said nothing and half said all of the above.
Steelers fan survey results, Part I: The Mike McCarthy hire, Aaron Rodgers’ return
Plus, how you want the QB room to shake out.








