Michael John McCarthy (born November 10, 1963) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He led the Packers to a win in Super Bowl XLV against his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
McCarthy was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father was a firefighter and Pittsburgh Police officer as well as a bar owner, who raised McCarthy as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. McCarthy was a tight end at Baker University, an NAIA school located in Baldwin City, Kansas.
After serving as a graduate assistant at Fort Hays State from 1987 to 1988, McCarthy returned home to Pittsburgh and was hired in 1989 to work under Mike Gottfried and then later Paul Hackett at the University of Pittsburgh, where he served as graduate assistant for three seasons before coaching wide receivers during the 1992 season. Initially during the off season he also worked on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to supplement his income.