If there’s any replacement for Mike Tomlin who could coax Aaron Rodgers to return, it would be his former coach, Mike McCarthy. Rodgers and McCarthy worked together for 13 years with the Packers before Green Bay let its head coach go in 2018. They haven’t reunited since, but rumors about their relationship don’t appear accurate.
That is according to sportswriter Ian O’Connor, who wrote a book about Aaron Rodgers published in 2024 that delved into his history with Mike McCarthy. O’Connor appeared on The Herd yesterday to talk NFL news, including the Hall of Fame. Given his connection to this story, however, he naturally addressed it. And he believes another Rodgers-McCarthy pairing could work.
“I did speak with both Aaron and McCarthy for my book. I did ask them that question, and their relationship is better now than it ever was when they were together in Green Bay”, O’Connor said. “Rodgers said to me, ‘Listen, we did butt heads from time to time, but at the end of the day, we lit it up for a lot of years’”.
Rodgers and McCarthy won the Super Bowl together in 2010 against the team they could reunite with in 2026, the Steelers. Green Bay drafted Rodgers in 2005, the year before McCarthy came onto the scene. During their years together, he surrounded Rodgers with Pittsburgh influences, which helped drive him here in 2025. O’Connor believes, though, that McCarthy’s impact on Rodgers’ career remains understated.
“What people forget is Mike McCarthy changed Aaron Rodgers’ entire style of play. When he got him out of Cal, he was very robotic”, he said. “He had the ball back at his earhole. McCarthy loosened him up and made him a more athletic player and really helped develop him into an all-time great and never gets any credit for that”.
McCarthy went on record during his introductory press conference that he wants Rodgers back for 2026. He also said that they have already had discussions, though there is no timeline for a decision. It appears the Steelers would welcome Rodgers back, too, so it’s really up to the quarterback.
Aaron Rodgers led the Steelers to a 10-6 record (missing one game) last season. He went 327-of-498 for 3,322 yards with 24 touchdowns to 7 interceptions. It certainly did not represent him at his best—nor at his worst. But could Mike McCarthy get even more of the old Rodgers out of him? Could returning to his more familiar West Coast offense be tempting enough for him to make good on the reunion?