Aaron Rodgers says he's back in Pittsburgh because of Mike McCarthy
Aaron Rodgers announced on Wednesday that 2026 will be his last season in the NFL. The 42-year-old, four-time MVP signed a one-year deal to reunite with head coach Mike McCarthy in hopes of a last hurrah. Rodgers called it a "full circle" moment to play for McCarthy for the first time since 2018.
That settled questions about how Rodgers viewed McCarthy after Tyler Dunne wrote a story for Bleacher Report in 2019 detailing friction between the quarterback and the coach that dated to earlier in their relationship. Rodgers indicated Wednesday that he is back in Pittsburgh only because McCarthy is the coach. After Mike Tomlin's departure, Rodgers said he suggested to General Manager Omar Khan that the Steelers consider McCarthy.
"I encouraged him for an outside perspective to interview Mike," Rodgers said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. "Not thinking that he even would, honestly, just because the way the league goes and the trend, it's kind of like whoever worked with Sean [McVay], Kyle [Shanahan] or one of those guys. Matt [LaFleur] now gets a lot of looks and multiple guys in those trees have.
"But then when it became more serious, I was thinking, 'Wow, that'd be a really interesting thought to come back and play with Mike. '" Rodgers has played for three teams over the past four seasons. He thought it was going to four in five seasons after Tomlin stepped away, admitting "there was some doubt [about a return to Pittsburgh] for sure.
" "When he said he was stepping away, that was an emotional moment just because we all love him so much and care about him, and I thought that was probably it for me in Pittsburgh," Rodgers said. "But when the decision was made to hire Mike, I started opening my mind back up to coming back. " Rodgers' 22nd season will be his final season, absent a change of heart next offseason, giving him a final chance for a second Super Bowl ring.