Super Bowl XLV - Coaching

Green Bay - Mike McCarthy, Joe Philbin, Dom Capers
Pittsburgh - Mike Tomlin, Bruce Arians, Dick LeBeau

There are currently five active coaches in the NFL that have won a Super Bowl. Mike Tomlin is one of them. Mike McCarthy is not. In just his fourth season at the helm for the Steelers, Mike Tomlin is appearing in his second Super Bowl at the young age of 38. McCarthy is not an old man himself. He will be making his first Super Bowl appearance at age 47. Both of these men have made the most of their first head coaching gigs in the NFL. Tomlin is looking to become the youngest coach in NFL history to win two Super Bowls. McCarthy looks to join Packer coaching greats Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren as the only coaches to lead this franchise to the promise land.

Mike McCarthy is in his fifth season as Head Coach for the Green Bay Packers. He has brought a fantastic offensive mind that has helped mold Aaron Rodgers and this young offense into one of the league's best. Since McCarthy took over the reigns in Green Bay, the Packers are one of only two teams to finish in the top ten in offense each of the last five years. McCarthy generally calls the plays but is aided by another great offensive mind in Joe Philbin. On the defensive side, Green Bay is lead by one of the best coaches around In Dom Capers. Capers gained notoriety in the 90s for incorporating a zone-blitzing scheme while head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Since he took over as Defensive Coordinator, the Packers have blossomed into a dominant force on that side of the ball as well. This coaching staff will mix things up on both sides and look to keep the Steelers off balance.

For Pittsburgh, they just continue to make the right call when choosing head coaches. Mike Tomlin is the third coach the franchise has had in the last 41 years. He has followed in the foot steps of the legendary Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher just fine. He is in the midst of building quite a legacy himself. Tomlin brings a ferocious attitude to the table that his team feeds into. He has great assistants too. Bruce Arians controls the offense. He has changed the philosophy in the last couple years. While the Steelers are still capable of running the ball and relying on their defense to win games, their offense can win games too. They are more explosive and pass-happy than ever. Defensively, you could not ask for a better Coordinator than Dick LeBeau. LeBeau is possibly the greatest Defensive Coordinator ever. He has been a staple in Pittsburgh and one of the primary reasons that the Steelers D is one of the best every year.

The Steelers have the undoubted advantage in this category. They have all been here before. They know how to approach this game. McCarthy will have his troops ready, but you can't go against the experience of Pittsburgh's coaching staff. As weird as it is to use "experience" with a 38-year-old, it is true. Tomlin and his coaches will prepare their team just as they did two short seasons ago.

Advantage - Pittsburgh