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

The vibes for Mike McCarthy and Eli Heidenreich over the last few months have been immaculate. 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.