Aaron Rodgers came to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025 in large part to play for head coach Mike Tomlin. So when Tomlin stepped away at the end of the season, it seemed a sign Rodgers would move on, potentially to retirement, or maybe to another team in free agency.
But then the Steelers hired Mike McCarthy, and everything may have changed.
The news of McCarthy's hiring as the Steelers' new head coach emerged Saturday afternoon, via NFL Network's Adam Schefter.
McCarthy, of course, coached the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl with Rodgers as his quarterback.
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Former NFL GM Doug Whaley spoke on 93.7 FM in Pittsburgh recently, and he was asked whether Rodgers and McCarthy would make sense as a pairing.
"Absolutely, no doubt," Whaley answered, then continued. "Then they can seriously put a plan together and say, let's get a quarterback."
Rodgers will be 43 in the season ahead. He isn't a long-term answer at quarterback.
But with him technically heading for free agency, the only QBs the Steelers have under contract are Mason Rudolph and Will Howard. That can't be the final solution.
Rodgers did enough in 2025 to get the Steelers to the playoffs. He's a fan of McCarthy.
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Is Aaron Rodgers retiring?
At the end of the day, this is a question no one knows the answer to, and Rodgers may not clue us in to his decision for another six months, if last offseason is any indication.
But the balance shifted Saturday.
McCarthy is a Pittsburgh guy, and he's someone Rodgers appreciates.
It may just be the kind of match that brings Rodgers back to the Steelers for one more year.
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