It’s safe to say that Aaron Rodgers’ brief time playing for Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has only increased the amount of respect between the future Hall of Fame quarterback and likely future Hall of Fame coach.
Like Rodgers, Tomlin has left a lasting imprint on the NFL. Tomlin, after all, is a Super Bowl champion who also owns the record for most consecutive years without a losing season to start a coaching career. Despite his success, though, Tomlin often faces criticism for not winning enough in the playoffs, a slight to which Rodgers clearly takes exception.
“Mike T is the man. Any hate, disrespect and the ilk is complete and utter bullshit,” Rodgers said during a live appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” prior to the start of Wednesday’s training camp practice. “Mike T is the man. From Day 1 that we talked on the phone in the offseason, I was never talking to a head coach. I was talking to a friend. I respected the hell out of that.
“The way that he leads the room, the way that he talks in the team meeting, the way he is in practice,” Rodgers continued. “The surprise has been, just, what a great dude he is, what a great leader he is, on top of what I already expected, which was already high based on what I thought from afar, but being able to see it in person is incredible.”
The feeling is mutual between quarterback and coach, who on Wednesday referred to his relationship with Rodgers as a “bromance.”
“Man, he expressed his desires, and they were in alignment with mine, and so those come to Jesus conversations weren’t even necessary,” Tomlin told McAfee while referencing his offseason conversations with Rodgers. “He’s here and here in a mindset that’s aligned with us. He’s here and here to win a world championship for this group.”
Like Tomlin, Rodgers’ legacy is somewhat complicated. For all of their success, both are often criticized for not having won more at the highest level. Tomlin won a Super Bowl, but that was back in 2008, his second season as coach. Ironically, Rodgers’ lone Super Bowl trip was a win that came at the expense of Tomlin’s Steelers at the end of the 2010 season.
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Both men continued to have success last decade, but neither made it back to the big game. In 2020, after coming up short in the previous year’s NFC title game, the Packers’ brass decided that it was time to begin grooming Rodgers’ successor when they selected Jordan Love in the first round of that year’s draft. Rodgers spent three more years in Green Bay before he was ultimately traded to the Jets in 2023.
Unlike Rodgers, the Steelers haven’t looked to replace Tomlin — quite the opposite, in fact. Tomlin penned yet another contract extension last offseason. Tomlin was extended despite the Steelers continuing their streak of seasons without a playoff win, which dates back to January of 2017.
That drought has led to some fans being critical of Tomlin, who has won 63% of his regular-season games but just 42.1% of his playoff games.
“I don’t take it personally,” Tomlin said of the criticism. “There’s motivation for me. I’m here to deliver for them.”
Tomlin, 53, said that he still has the same passion to do the job as he did when he took the job back in 2007 at the age of 34. Tomlin’s message has also continued to resonate with his players that includes his new quarterback.
“He’s the type of guy that every great coach makes you want to play for,” Rodgers said. “And what I mean to expand on that is you care so deeply about the person, you don’t want to let them down. And that’s the aura, and that’s the respect that Mike has from his players. You want to play for this guy because you know how much he cares and you don’t want to let him down.”
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