The Steelers knew hiring Mike McCarthy wouldn’t win them any offseason awards, many seeing it as Aaron Rodgers bait. After Mike Tomlin resigned, Art Rooney II acknowledged that would greatly impact Rodgers’ decision about returning for another season. McCarthy was his head coach for many years in Green Bay, however, so was potentially the next best thing.
“The Steelers have tried to make it abundantly clear that they did not hire Mike McCarthy to entice Aaron Rodgers”, Mike DeFabo of The Athletic said on the Scoop City podcast. “They told Dianna [Russini] that, they told me that. They made that very explicitly clear, because I think that they are concerned about that narrative”.
The Steelers have also tried to walk the fine line of embracing McCarthy’s native son storyline while distancing themselves from making that part of the equation of choosing to hire him. Similarly, they are distancing themselves from the idea that McCarthy is the Steelers’ head coach for Aaron Rodgers’ sake.
It would, after all, be a bad look to hire a head coach to a five-year contract in the hopes of getting one more season out of a 42-year-old player. Rodgers is already the oldest player in the NFL, if he returns, and McCarthy is the oldest head coach in Steelers history.
Still, McCarthy’s history with Rodgers was very important to the Steelers for other reasons. His 13 years spent with the future Hall of Famer is the crown jewel of his legacy. It is, ostensibly, the biggest reason they believe he can do what they need him to do.
“Ultimately, the reason why they brought in Mike McCarthy is his track record working with quarterbacks”, DeFabo said of the Steelers. “The way that he was able to develop and unlock Aaron Rodgers”, he continued, also referencing his time with Brett Favre, and even going back to working with Joe Montana.
Mike Tomlin benefited from having Ben Roethlisberger for the vast majority of his career. In the years that followed the quarterback’s retirement, the organization could not find a competitive solution. The Steelers had their best year of quarterback play with Aaron Rodgers last year, but even if he returns, McCarthy must find the next quarterback after him. “They’re counting on Mike McCarthy to get that done”, DeFabo said.
How much do the Steelers really care about the appearance of hiring McCarthy for Rodgers’ sake, though? That is the impression DeFabo has, and it’s true that public comments from the team have pushed back on that notion. But it would also be a profoundly silly thing to do in the first place, so of course they would reject it.
In his lone season in Pittsburgh, Aaron Rodgers went 327-for-498 passing for 3,322 yards with 24 touchdowns to 7 interceptions. They went 10-6 with him on the field as the starter, but they were blown out in the playoffs. Do the Steelers think Mike McCarthy could get more out of Rodgers than could Mike Tomlin? That might say more about why they want Rodgers back rather than why they hired McCarthy.
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