Steelers embrace Mike McCarthy in first offseason without Mike Tomlin

playWill this really be Aaron Rodgers' final season? (1:13) PITTSBURGH -- For all of the Pittsburgh Steelers' additions this offseason, something that wasn't there caught T.J. Watt's attention during OTAs and minicamp practices. "You don't see benches out here anymore," Watt said. "It's just interesting because there's ... there's many different ways to do things. We're just doing things much different than what I'm used to over the last nine years, and it's good. Change is good for me." There has been a lot of that since former coach Mike Tomlin resigned in January and Mike McCarthy was hired a few weeks later. For longtime defensive captain Cameron Heyward, that means also getting used to parking next to a different car in the team lot after spending much of the past 16 seasons next to Tomlin. "It's a different challenge," Heyward said. "I've just tried to be open to it, just try to learn. It's not like there can only be one good coach in the league, and I've always admired Coach McCarthy from afar and just want to learn. I think that's the easiest thing you can do is put your ego aside and just learn from great coaches." Not only has McCarthy removed the metal benches and bleachers from the practice fields at the team's training facility, but he's also implementing a new practice routine and schedule as he puts his stamp on his hometown organization. Among the many changes is a shift in practice times, meeting schedules and practice organization. But as much time as the players have spent learning about how deliberately McCarthy operates, McCarthy has spent just as much studying and listening to them. "It's important for us to learn each other," McCarthy said, adding that he recently completed a report chronicling his first 100 days on the job and circulated it among his staff. "There's just a lot to do in the first year. ... The pompoms flying around and yelling, screaming isn't going to do anything right now. We need to learn the offense, learn the defense, make sure we know the special teams, make sure we have a clear understanding of the fundamentals, make sure each player has a toolbox that's full, make sure they are successful." Unlike previous seasons in which Tomlin's mid-June minicamp marked the end of the offseason program, McCarthy scheduled his minicamp for the first week of June, followed by one more week of voluntary OTAs and a few days of extra "rookie school" after that. "I've done it in different ways, but in my opinion, you can really install everything you need in eight installations," McCarthy said in April before the start of OTAs. "We'll get the first eight installations in there, and it gives me a chance to reassess, a chance to see exactly where we are because I always like to have that window at the end, and particularly at some level, how much am I going to focus on the younger players because they're the ones that you have to bridge the gap between your veterans and your first-year players. "The design of the minicamp before the last OTAs is part of the thinking there, so when we come out of that minicamp, I'll know exactly where we are." The Steelers spent those eight sessions doing as McCarthy laid out: installing the new schemes and getting on the same page with the verbiage. That meant as much time in the classroom as on the field. "It's been a lot," Watt said. "Not going to lie to you, it's been a lot of studying, a lot of learning, a lot on the iPad. Also trying to see the new faces, not only players, but coaches. There's been a lot of really good work. As you guys can see, practices are a little bit different around here. It's tougher as you get older to get the work in, but it's all been phenomenal." Veteran Cameron Heyward is putting his trust in new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and his infusion of fresh ideas, while also finding ways to maintain the Steelers' defensive identity and tradition. Gene J. Puskar/AP PhotoBy the end of the minicamp installations, McCarthy found the Steelers were on track, and because of that, the final week of OTAs featured mostly rookies and younger players as the veterans scattered. "We're in a really good spot as far as what we've been able to accomplish with the football team, so we're really trying to get as many reps to our younger generation," McCarthy said during the last week of OTAs. Practice times shifted, too. The Steelers took the field an hour later during this year's offseason workouts, practicing from about 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Those times will shift even more during the Steelers' training camp, with practices scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, instead of Tomlin's preferred midafternoon start, often chosen so the team would learn to work through the added adversity of the late-summer heat and occasional thunderstorm delay. During the season, the late-morning practice timing will be similar. The Steelers treated the first day of minicamp as an in-season Thursday to give the pla

Steelers embrace Mike McCarthy in first offseason without Mike Tomlin

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