Mike McCarthy and Eli Heidenreich's Pittsburgh homecomings get real as preseason begins

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The vibes for Mike McCarthy and Eli Heidenreich over the last few months have been immaculate. How could they not be?

The chance for McCarthy to lead his hometown team brought the first-year Pittsburgh Steelers coach to tears when he was hired in January. The image last April of Heidenreich walking onto the draft stage in full Naval dress uniform outside Acrisure Stadium — just a few miles from the Mount Lebanon neighborhood where he grew up — felt like something out of a movie.

Their respective homecomings have provided plenty of “fairy tale” narratives during an eventful offseason for the typically low-key Steelers. And while there will be a little bit of “hey, is this really happening?” on Thursday night when they walk onto the field for the first time as the Steelers host Green Bay in the preseason opener, they're both aware of the reality check that awaits under the lights.

“Naturally, there’s some people that might assume that it was like you said, like a hometown pick or whatever, whatever someone wants to say,” Heidenreich said. “But I’m here to play football, and that’s it.”

Good thing, because evolving from a seventh-round flyer following a record-setting career at Navy — where he set program marks for career receiving yards and receiving touchdowns — into an NFL roster spot will take some doing. Nobody knows that more than the 6-foot, 206-pound Heidenreich, who politely dismissed comparisons between himself and San Francisco 49ers running back and 2023 NFL Offense Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey.

Both are on the smaller side, sure. And yes, both are shifty. But one came to the league as a Heisman Trophy finalist and a first-round pick. And it wasn't Heidenreich.

“He’s a fantastic player and one of the best to ever do it,” he said. “And he’s just someone that I look up to and really try to do my best to model him in certain ways. But yeah, I do see the (comparisons) and I know people get pretty fired up one way or the other about them.”

Heidenreich wants no part of that discussion. He's too focused on trying to carve out a niche in Pittsburgh, where his best chance to avoid getting cut for the first time in his life will be as a contributor on special teams.

While the chance for reps at running back might be difficult to come by — though Heidenreich has basically attached himself to backfield coach Ramon Chinyoung since camp started — his elusiveness could make him an intriguing option as a kick returner.

Whether Heidenreich gets any opportunities against the Packers in front of dozens of friends and family members who will make the short drive to Acrisure Stadium is uncertain. He tweaked his hamstring recently, which limited him for a stretch, though his No. 29 was noticeable during a walkthrough on Tuesday.

Either way, it figures to be a “pinch-me” type of moment when he jogs onto the field and looks up, a point of view that will be markedly different from the one he enjoyed as a fan.

“It’s an honor to just get out there and play in that stadium," he said. “I think that’s the best way for me to put it. It’s something that I have dreamed of for a long time."

How long the dream lasts now that he's exchanged his fandom for a uniform with his name across the back is up to him.

“Preseason is really important,” he said. “So I've got to put my best foot forward and be locked in when I get there.”

The same goes for McCarthy, though perhaps for different reasons. He's walked onto the turf a handful of times during his career, but has never stood on the home sideline. He figures the significance will start to hit as he makes the drive in.

The fact that he gets to begin what is likely the final chapter of his head coaching career against the team where it all began makes it just a little sweeter.

“Obviously, having a personal and professional connection to Green Bay, that’s part of my life,” he said.

Of course, all the nostalgia will wear off once the ball is kicked. Then the more pressing needs of the moment — like figuring out how much progress his group has made during his first camp and seeing what he has to work with in young quarterbacks Will Howard and Drew Allar — will take over.

And in a way, it will be a relief. While he has embraced all the trappings of being the hometown boy made good, the Steelers didn't hire him to curry favor with the fanbase but to win games. The process starts in earnest on Thursday.

“I just want to see these young guys play," he said. "I want to see how they play connected to each other. The pre-snap of the operation, having an understanding of what’s in front of them ... This is what these games are for."

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL