On Monday night when Aaron Rodgers refrained from asserting much with certainty, the quarterback made one point eminently clear: his respect for Mike Tomlin.
The respect, in itself, wasn’t surprising. Rodgers had lavished praise on Tomlin for the better part of a year since he signed up to spend his 21st NFL season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The longest-tenured head coach in the NFL was Reason 1A Rodgers joined Pittsburgh. It may have also been Reason 1B.
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But after the Steelers’ 30-6 wild-card loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night, the ninth straight year that Pittsburgh has not won a postseason game, Rodgers reiterated that his belief in Tomlin had not wavered.
Considering Tomlin on the hot seat, he said, was “an absolute joke.”
“Mike T has had more success than damn near anybody in the league for the last 19-20 years,” Rodgers said. “And more than that though, when you have the right guy and the culture is right, you don’t think about making a change.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Tomlin had relieved the Steelers of the need to think about making a change as he stepped down from his post of 19 years that included a Super Bowl title.
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The decision will send ripple effects through the NFL, as nine openings now loom at head coach. It may also finalize a decision for Aaron Rodgers’ future.
Because while Rodgers hasn’t confirmed with certainty that this season was his last, the 42-year-old has hinted at that possibility as he spent this season with Pittsburgh first and foremost because of Tomlin.
The reason Rodgers came to the Steelers is now gone. The culture that elevated an aging core of a roster will need to regroup. While the club never finished below .500 in 19 years, postseason success has also eluded it the last decade.
If Rodgers was on the fence about a return, Tomlin may push him over it.
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“I’m not going to make any emotional decisions,” Rodgers said Monday night. “At this point, obviously such a fun year. A lot of the adversity, but a lot of fun. Been a great year overall in my life in the last year, and this is a really good part of that, coming here and being a part of this team. So it’s disappointing to be sitting here with the season over.”
Rodgers’ season-wide performance had bright spots as he led the Steelers to 10 wins and the AFC North title while completing 65.7% of his passes for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
After the Steelers’ regular-season finale win over the Baltimore Ravens, teammates hailed the quarterback who accounted for 314 yards and a go-ahead touchdown with 55 seconds to play.
“He’s here for a reason,” edge rusher T.J. Watt said. “This is why he’s here.”
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But Monday night, with just 146 yards, no touchdowns, an interception and a lost fumble, Rodgers’ magic eluded him against an excellent Texans defense. The chance at a ride into the sunset to cap this season evaporated — for Rodgers and for Tomlin.
So Rodgers said he would “just get away and then have the right conversations.” The closest he came to acknowledging he could hang up his cleats was in saying “every game could be my final game.”
Twice, he declined to answer questions.
Each one became more notable with Tomlin’s resignation.
If Rodgers did want to play a 22nd season, would he want it to be with the Steelers?
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“I’m not going to talk about that,” Rodgers said.
And at the end of his news conference, after Rodgers had derided the notion of firing Tomlin or Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur and insisted he would make decisions differently than the trends of a league, Rodgers was asked what he learned from Tomlin in the season with him.
“I’ve answered that a number of times,” Rodgers said. “I’ve talked extensively about how I feel about Mike, and I just did in that f***ing answer.”
Rodgers had said all he wanted and needed to say. And even as he praised the traditions of the Steelers’ organization, it continued to ultimately circle back to Tomlin. So he left the podium and returned to the Steelers’ locker room.
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Even there, Tomlin had said little.
“It’s not time for talk,” Tomlin said. “We agreed that we’ll meet tomorrow and go from there. But when you’re in this single-elimination tournament, man, there’s not a whole lot to talk about.
“You win or you go home.”
Tomlin told the Steelers, in his Tuesday meeting, that he is going home.
The architect of the Steelers’ winning culture the last two decades has stepped down. Rodgers, who enjoyed immense success in 18 seasons with the Packers before dysfunctional losing seasons with the New York Jets, made clear how much he values a well-run, well-coached organization.
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On Monday night, as ESPN analysts including Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman voiced their expectations Rodgers would not play again, the tides seemed headed in one direction.
Tuesday, with Tomlin stepping down, they seemed to crash even more surely.
If Rodgers retires this offseason, he’ll do so with a career regular-season record of 163-93-1 (.636), completing 65.1% of his passes for 66,274 yards, 527 touchdowns and 123 interceptions.
Rodgers played this season as the active leader in passing yardage and passing touchdowns, per Pro Football Reference. He holds the all-time records for interception percentage — 1.4% — and passer rating, at 102.2 across his more than two decades.
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Might Rodgers want to start over again if a talented team with a coach he knew, like the Minnesota Vikings, called? Perhaps. But the chance of running back his 2025 infrastructure is gone.
“After much thought and reflection, I have decided to step down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers …” Tomlin said in a statement. “While this chapter comes to a close, my respect and love for the Pittsburgh Steelers will never change.”