When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Aaron Rodgers last year, it was supposed to be a one-and-done deal. But the moment Pittsburgh hired Mike McCarthy as its next head coach earlier this offseason, speculation about Rodgers returning and reuniting with his former HC immediately came to life. But considering how their relationship unraveled toward the end in Green Bay Packers, it makes one wonder: What would this latest Rodgers-McCarthy chapter actually look like?
NFL journalist Tyler Dunne recently joined 93.7 The Fan, where he reflected on conversations with former Packers player and admitted the partnership still carries the feeling that it could once again end badly.
“There is a source I would probably describe him as a pro Aaron Rodgers source on that Bleacher Report story I wrote way back when,” Dunne said. “I reached out to this player again when it looked like Rodgers and McCarthy would be joining forces once again here in Pittsburgh. I asked him how it was going to go down and at first he said Cinderella story and Super Bowl champs.
“I was shocked and asked if he was serious and he said no. He was kidding around and predicted they would be at each other’s throats and fighting in no time. He saw this up close so I am sure they will say all the right things if they do rejoin forces here.”
Rodgers still has not officially signed with the Steelers, though he has spent time in Pittsburgh this month. But it is not difficult to understand why the idea of a Rodgers-McCarthy reunion feels so polarizing. On one hand, they are a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and head coach duo. On the other hand, their relationship ended badly back in 2018.
And even though things officially ended after the Arizona Cardinals defeated the Packers 20-17 in December 2018, leading to McCarthy’s firing, the tension between Rodgers and McCarthy had reportedly been building for years, possibly more than a decade. In many ways, it started before Rodgers was even drafted.
During the 2005 NFL Draft, Rodgers was widely projected to become the No. 1 overall pick. McCarthy, then part of the San Francisco 49ers, held that selection. But instead of Rodgers, the 49ers drafted Alex Smith, while Rodgers slid all the way to No. 24 overall before Green Bay selected him. Just one year later, McCarthy became the Packers’ head coach, and according to former teammates, Rodgers never fully got over the draft situation.
“Aaron’s always had a chip on his shoulder with Mike,” former Packers running back Ryan Grant told Bleacher Report. “The guy who ended up becoming your coach passed on you when he had a chance. Aaron was upset that Mike passed on him — that Mike actually verbally said that Alex Smith was a better quarterback.”
For Rodgers, the draft night itself was humiliating. He sat in the Green Room expecting to hear his name early, only to watch 23 teams pass on him, including McCarthy’s 49ers. And once McCarthy became his head coach in Green Bay, the relationship reportedly became increasingly strained over time.
According to Bleacher Report, Rodgers gradually lost respect for McCarthy because he believed the coach had a “low football IQ.” That frustration reportedly grew as Rodgers became tired of seeing receivers repeatedly run the same concepts while McCarthy resisted major offensive adjustments. Eventually, Rodgers allegedly began changing plays at the line himself.
By 2018, the situation worsened even further. Before the season, McCarthy moved on from quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, who had built a strong relationship with Rodgers. The Packers also parted ways with wide receiver Jordy Nelson, one of Rodgers’ closest teammates.
Then injuries, including Rodgers’ knee injury, contributed to offensive inconsistency early in the season. As the frustration mounted, reports suggested Rodgers had become increasingly unhappy with the direction of the offense. By December, McCarthy’s time in Green Bay was over.
And those were only some of the more public examples of the tension between the two. NFL fans still remember cameras catching Rodgers yelling “stupid f—-ng call” toward his coach during a Week 3 game in 2017.
Which is exactly why the Steelers’ hiring McCarthy this offseason made a possible reunion with Rodgers feel just as complicated as it did intriguing. In the meantime, the Steelers are still waiting on Aaron Rodgers’ final decision for the 2026 season. And while general manager Omar Khan recently received a bit of encouragement regarding the situation, he still has not received any official confirmation directly from Rodgers himself.
Aaron Rodgers hasn’t contacted the Steelers yet
Last week, during the Steelers’ rookie minicamp, the franchise received encouraging signs that Aaron Rodgers was in Pittsburgh. But while the Steelers were conducting minicamp a few miles away at their South Side facility, Rodgers chose not to interact directly with the team.
“We’ve had communications with him and his agent,” Khan said. “One thing I’ll say is this time of the year, it’s great for these young guys. We have a new coaching staff here, and they just got off the field a little bit ago. The time they’re spending knowing each other and allowing our coaches to develop and grow, not just the quarterbacks but all these guys, it’s very precious.”
It’s a script Rodgers has followed before, so the Steelers already understand how this process tends to unfold. Last offseason, before eventually signing his one-year, $13.65 million deal, Rodgers quietly visited Pittsburgh’s facility in late March. After that meeting, though, the quarterback still left the organization sitting in limbo for weeks.
That is exactly why the Steelers placed an unrestricted free-agent tender on Rodgers this offseason, mainly to avoid any scenario where another team could suddenly enter the picture. While that possibility still feels unlikely, it also does not necessarily mean Rodgers has made a final decision yet. If anything, he has continued avoiding every soft deadline Pittsburgh has quietly hoped for along the way.
Now, the next checkpoint appears to be the start of OTAs, which are less than a week away. Whether Rodgers signs before then and officially reunites with Mike McCarthy is still something nobody inside the organization truly seems to know, including McCarthy, the front office, and the Steelers fan base itself.
