The 2011 Mike and Jessica McCarthy Golf Tournament raised more than $167,000 for a children’s hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, and it remains the most concrete public record of what Jessica Kress has done. That’s the name several outlets use for Mike McCarthy’s wife, while team materials call her Jessica or Jessica McCarthy. Her husband was introduced as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach on January 27, 2026, after 13 seasons in Green Bay and five in Dallas. Her public footprint is a giving record built around a family foundation, a children’s hospital, and a library book drive, not a career in the spotlight.
What to Know First
Jessica Kress is the name several outlets give Mike McCarthy’s wife, who appears as Jessica McCarthy in team materials. McCarthy became the Steelers’ 17th head coach on January 27, 2026. She and her husband established the McCarthy Family Foundation, and her documented public activity centers on children’s hospital and library causes.
The Documented Record, Year by Year
Almost everything checkable about her comes from team announcements and news coverage of the family’s charity work, so a timeline is the cleanest way to see it. Each row below traces to a team release or a news report, nothing more.
| Date | What’s documented | Where it comes from |
| 2009 | She and her husband approached the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison | Local news coverage of the couple’s community work |
| August 2011 | The Mike and Jessica McCarthy Golf Tournament raised over $167,000 for that hospital | Green Bay Packers release |
| 2014 | Described as a teacher; the couple has five children | Associated Press profile of her husband |
| January 27, 2026 | Her husband thanks “my wife Jessica” at his Steelers introduction | Steelers announcement |
The 2011 release is the richest entry. A hospital official said the couple visits patients room to room, and the same release lists two $100,000 gifts, one to the Pittsburgh neighborhood where McCarthy grew up and one to his alma mater. Added to the hospital total, the announced figures come to more than $367,000 for 2011 alone, with the credit shared between the McCarthy Family Foundation and the Packers.
A separate local report describes her teaming up with a Brown County library group on a campaign to put books in children’s hands. It’s an undated detail, so it sits outside the table, but it fits the pattern of causes aimed at kids.
Whose Name Is on the Foundation
A common assumption is that the charity work belongs to the coach alone, with his wife appearing only in photographs. The record says otherwise. The Steelers’ own announcement states that he and his wife, Jessica, established The McCarthy Family Foundation, and the 2011 golf event carried both of their names in its title.
The confusion comes from how sports coverage works, because the head coach is the one who gets quoted. Her name shows up in the fine print of a release, in a hospital official’s thank-you, or in the name of an event. So the accurate reading is a joint foundation with a shared public face, not a coach’s charity with a spouse in attendance.
The foundation’s reach is wider than one hospital. The Steelers’ list of beneficiaries spans Wisconsin, Kansas, and Pittsburgh, and includes autism organizations, a Boys and Girls Club, schools, and the American Red Cross.
A Quick Date Calculation on the Coaching Timeline
Her husband’s Steelers tenure gives a simple, checkable number. From the January 27, 2026 introduction to today, October 10, 2026, is 256 days, or 8 months and 13 days. You can confirm that yourself by working out the exact gap between two dates, which handles the uneven month lengths for you.
One wrinkle is worth knowing. The Steelers’ own page is dated January 27 in its header, while a summary box further down the same page says January 24, so the dated headline and the text of the announcement are the safer reference.
The Steelers Announcement as the Primary Source
If you want her name in an official context, the Steelers’ announcement of the hire is the document to read. In it, McCarthy thanks his wife and family and says they can finally wear their Steelers gear openly, a nod to his Pittsburgh roots. The same page carries the foundation paragraph and the full beneficiary list.
Anything about her beyond giving and family is outside what those records establish, and that’s the honest boundary for the topic. A birth date, a workplace, or a hometown stated with confidence would need a record behind it, and the public documents here don’t supply one.
Conclusion
More than $367,000 in gifts announced in August 2011, split across a hospital and two community beneficiaries, is the figure that best captures the public side of Jessica Kress. It’s a shared effort between the foundation and the Packers, and her name sits on the hospital event at the center of it. If you’re checking anything else you’ve read about her, compare it against the Steelers’ announcement first, since that’s the one source tied directly to the family.
FAQ
What is the McCarthy Family Foundation?
It’s a charitable foundation that Mike McCarthy and his wife Jessica established, according to the Steelers. It has made donations to organizations in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Pittsburgh.
Did Jessica Kress have a career of her own?
An Associated Press profile of her husband in 2014 described her as a teacher. Beyond that, no public career is documented.
How many children does the family have?
The same 2014 Associated Press profile gave the number as five. Names and further details aren’t covered here.
Was the golf tournament a one-time event?
No. The 2011 Packers release calls the donations annual, and a 2014 Associated Press piece still pointed readers to the event.
What did McCarthy say about his family when the Steelers hired him?
He thanked his wife Jessica and their children by name and told them they could now openly wear Steelers gear.