The Cook & Joe Show

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Thursday, January 29th, 2026

Hour 1 with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Tyler Kennedy: TK would 100% trade Sergei Murashov and a first-round pick for Robertson. It's an interesting question if the Penguins should buy this year. We miss Penguins trade rumors and big-time deals when they were good! Do the Penguins owe it to Sid and Malkin to make that trade and go for it?

Hour 2 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Troy Polamalu said that the Steelers had the mentality in practice that week that they needed to block and be set for an interception and runback from Mike Tomlin. Belichick might be kept out of the Hall for L.C. Greenwood to get in. Ben Roethlisberger said that McCarthy understands the Steeler way and thinks it's a GREAT hire.

Hour 3 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Garrett Nussmeier told Steelers Depot that he would love to play for Mike McCarthy. His dad Doug Nussmeier is good friends with McCarthy. What is going to happen with Mason Rudolph? Pitt is reducing capacity by 17,000 seats at Acrisure Stadium. Content creator Frank Michael Smith joined the show. Frank likes the Mike McCarthy hiring.

Hour 4 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: McCarthy will be the play caller. Scott Tolzien is interviewing to be the Steelers offensive coordinator. Patrick Graham is likely going to be the defensive coordinator. Commanders defensive assistant Jason Simmons is expected to be hired as a prominent defensive coach with the Steelers. Would you trade Stuart Skinner at the deadline? He has been a huge success of the Penguins' success in 2026.

Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Scott Tolzien could be an interesting offensive coordinator after helping to develop Tyler Shough. Would you trade Stuart Skinner at the deadline? He has been a huge success of the Penguins' success in 2026. Jeff would let it play out and not trade Skinner at this point.

McCarthy will be the play caller. Scott Tolzien is interviewing to be the Steelers offensive coordinator. Patrick Graham is likely going to be the defensive coordinator. Commanders defensive assistant Jason Simmons is expected to be hired as a prominent defensive coach with the Steelers. McCarthy underachieved with Aaron Rodgers.

Frank likes the Mike McCarthy hiring. He gives McCarthy credit for helping to change Rodgers' release and developing Rodgers into one of the best quarterbacks ever. Malik Willis has a high ceiling in Frank's mind and has put some things together. Joe pushes back on the McCarthy hire and a lot of people wanted to see a young offensive coach.

Who is going to be the Steelers quarterback next season? Garrett Nussmeier told Steelers Depot that he would love to play for Mike McCarthy. His dad Doug Nussmeier is good friends with McCarthy. What is going to happen with Mason Rudolph? Pitt is reducing capacity by 17,000 seats at Acrisure Stadium.

Ben Roethlisberger said that McCarthy understands the Steeler way and thinks it's a great hire. Ben is happy the Steelers finally have an offensive head coach. The Steelers are reportedly hiring James Campen as their new offensive line coach. He worked with McCarthy as Green Bay's o-line coach from 2007-2018.

Troy Polamalu said that the Steelers had the mentality in practice that week that they needed to block and be set for an interception and runback from Mike Tomlin. Bill Belichick is in a voting poll with three senior category players and Patriots owner Robert Kraft. A Hall of Fame voter in Kansas City voted for three senior players because he doesn't know if they will ever make the Hall and this might be their last chance.

We miss Penguins trade rumors and big-time deals when they were good. When the Penguins traded for Jarome Iginla, it created a spark for the team. Do the Penguins owe it to Sid and Malkin to make that trade and go for it? Jason Robertson already has 30 goals for the Dallas Stars.

Tyler Kennedy would 100% trade Sergei Murashov and a first-round pick for Jason Robertson. Stuart Skinner has a veteran presence in net TK doesn't think the Penguins have had since Fleury. It's an interesting question if the Penguins should significantly buy this year.

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Wednesday, January 28th, 2026

Hour 1 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: The Steelers officially introduced Mike McCarthy as the team's 17th head coach and 4th head coach in 57 years on Tuesday. McCarthy thought that Aaron Rodgers was a great asset to the Steelers and "definitely" wants Rodgers to be back. The Cleveland Browns are hiring former Ravens OC Todd Monken as their head coach.

Hour 2 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Mark Kaboly thinks that McCarthy won over a lot of people on Tuesday. Mark thinks that McCarthy was the best coach available at developing quarterbacks and he trusts him more than the other options. There is TOO MUCH hype around Will Howard the expectations are too high. Bill Belichick didn't make the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year.

Hour 3 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Did Mike McCarthy win you over on Tuesday? The Steelers have added Adam Henry as their new wide receivers coach. Tom Pelissero reported that Jim Schwartz was very upset when he didn't get the Browns job and told people he isn't coming back. Bryan Rust has been suspended three games for his hit on Brock Boeser. Browns hire Todd Monken.

Hour 4 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: McCarthy said he loves the Steelers roster. He thinks it's very beneficial the Steelers have a lot of guys coming back. McCarthy said Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin left him a lot of players. Austin thinks Omar Khan working with the Saints at the same time as McCarthy was a big reason why McCarthy is the guy. The Raiders and Cardinals are the only head coach positions left. Was Marino-Montana the greatest quarterback matchup in Super Bowl history?

The Raiders and Cardinals are the only head coach positions left. Was Marino-Montana the greatest quarterback matchup in Super Bowl history? Chris Shula and Nate Scheelhaase are seemingly not going to be hired. We try to put a finger on what that is.

Mike White wrote a story about Mike McCarthy's youth sports career. He graduated from Bishop Boyle High School. McCarthy said he loves the Steelers roster. He thinks it's very beneficial the Steelers have a lot of guys coming back. McCarthy said Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin left him a lot of players. McCarthy said he is going to be calling the Steelers plays.

Bryan Rust has been suspended three games for his hit on Brock Boeser. Jacob Truba has only been suspended twice for two games each with his terrible history hitting players. The Rust hit was a bad hit and Joe understands the three game suspension. Does the Todd Monken hire make sense for Cleveland?? Sean Payton said he regrets going for it on 4th and 1 early in the AFC Championship Game.

Did Mike McCarthy win you over on Tuesday? The Steelers have added Adam Henry as their new wide receivers coach. Tom Pelissero reported that Jim Schwartz was very upset when he didn't get the Browns job and told people he isn't coming back. We react to Bill Belichick NOT getting into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

There is WAY too much hype with Will Howard. Bill Belichick didn't make the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year. Joe thinks it is an embarrassment for the NFL. Belichick didn't receive at least 40 of 50 votes to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Mark now thinks the Steelers did need a new voice and thinks McCarthy can provide that.

Mark thinks that McCarthy won over a lot of people on Tuesday. Mark said you can feel the passion from McCarthy and how much the job means to him. Joe doesn't think this has been an impressive coaching cycle. Mark thinks the Steelers are intrigued by Will Howard but not as optimistic as some are saying. Mark thinks that Rodgers WILL BE BACK.

The Cleveland Browns are hiring former Ravens OC Todd Monken as their head coach. Jim Schwartz is still under contract as the Browns defensive coordinator and the Browns want him to stay. Steelers fans chime in on Mike McCarthy. Jeff Patton of Baseball Card Castle joined the show for Starkey's Card of the Week.

The Steelers officially introduced Mike McCarthy as the team's 17th head coach and 4th head coach in 57 years on Tuesday. . Joe's Twitter poll learned that 45% of respondents feel the same about McCarthy. McCarthy thought that Aaron Rodgers was a great asset to the Steelers and "definitely" wants Rodgers to be back. McCarthy said "I don't know why you wouldn't" want Aaron Rodgers back.

From 'Reception Perception' (subscribe here): Matt and James discuss the Steelers decision to hire Mike McCarthy as their next head coach. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Joe Starkey and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Tuesday, January 27th, 2026

Hour 1 with Joe Starkey: Joe is convinced that tomorrow some people will feel differently about Mike McCarthy after his opening press conference. Rams fire back at Poni's report on Chris Shula's Steelers interview. There are a lot of quarterbacks who have won a national championship and not been a good NFL quarterback.

Hour 2 with Joe Starkey: Nick thinks McCarthy is a low ceiling, high floor coach when the Steelers needed a high ceiling head coach. Nick gives the Steelers a C. Nick likes Will Howard's deep ball and some other traits, but his footwork needs work and isn't great under pressure. Is this hiring cycle in the NFL underwhelming this year? There have been more attractive coaching candidates previous years.

Hour 3 with Joe Starkey: Brian Batko wanted the Steelers to wait to talk to Chris Shula and Nate Scheelhaase. He thinks McCarthy will talk a lot about Pittsburgh and mention Will Howard and Mike Tomlin. Ranking who walked into the best situation between Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin, and Mike McCarthy. We give it around a 40% chance Konnor Griffin is on the Opening Day roster.

Hour 4 with Joe Starkey: We assess where the Steelers stand with Mike McCarthy as their head coach. They have been living in a land of high-end mediocrity for years. Joe thinks other than Giants fans, other fan bases aren't jumping for joy with their hire. The Steelers have officially hired Mike McCarthy and released a picture of McCarthy shaking hands with Art Rooney II with his contract.

The Steelers have officially hired Mike McCarthy and released a picture of McCarthy shaking hands with Art Rooney II with his contract. Art Rooney II, Mike McCarthy, and Omar Khan released statements. Mike McCarthy talked about what it means to him to be from Pittsburgh.

We assess where the Steelers stand with Mike McCarthy as their head coach. They have been living in a land of high-end mediocrity for years. Joe thinks other than Giants fans, other fan bases aren't jumping for joy with their hire. Joe doesn't think Chris Shula is going to get a job. Should the Steelers have hosted more coaches?

Ranking who walked into the best situation between Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin, and Mike McCarthy. We give it a 40% chance Konnor Griffin is on the Opening Day roster. We think it's better than 75% Evgeni Malkin is back next year.

Brian wanted the Steelers to wait to talk to Chris Shula and Nate Scheelhaase. He thinks McCarthy will talk a lot about Pittsburgh and mention Will Howard and Mike Tomlin. The defense has "a blank slate" with a new coordinator. Brian thinks it's 50/50 that Aaron Rodgers comes back.

There were 10 of 32 jobs available this year. Are some of the other coaches that landed with other franchises great hires that could have electrified the Steelers fan base?

Nick Farabaugh thinks McCarthy is a low ceiling, high floor coach when the Steelers needed a high ceiling head coach. Nick gives the Steelers a C. Nick thinks Will Howard has upside, but he doesn't do well under pressure and doesn't have great footwork. Nick thinks that Garrett Nussmeier is an interesting name. The Steelers could look at Drew Allar, too.

The Mike McCarthy press conference bingo card. McCarthy clearly needs to find a quarterback. We don't understand the hype around Will Howard. We review quarterbacks since 2000 that have won a national championship but did not nearly translate to the NFL.

Joe is convinced that tomorrow some people will feel differently about Mike McCarthy after his opening press conference. Joe got a shoutout from the crew at PTI saying McCarthy is just like Mike Tomlin. Rams President Kevin Demoff fired back at Poni's report on Chris Shula bombing the interview and said he talked talked to the Steelers, who said the report is untrue.

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Bob Pompeani, Joe Starkey, and Austin Bechtold (behind the glass), from Monday, January 26th, 2026

Hour 1 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: The New England Patriots have as many playoff wins in the last three weeks as the Pittsburgh Steelers have in the past 15 years. Art Rooney II said you don't waste a year of your life trying not to contend. The Steelers need a quarterback! We hear from Steelers fans on their reaction to the Steelers hiring Greenfield native coach Mike McCarthy.