January 4, 2026, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA: January 4, 2026: Aaron Rodgers 8 during the Pittsburgh Steelers vs Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh PA. Brook Ward / Apparent Media Group. Pittsburgh USA – ZUMAa234 20260104_zsa_a234_514 Copyright: xAMGx ©IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire In September 2008, Mike McCarthy gave Aaron Rodgers his first career start with the Green Bay Packers. McCarthy’s coaching molded Rodgers into an MVP-caliber player who still lights up the gridiron at 42. Even Rodgers’ decision to run it back in 2026 with the Pittsburgh Steelers was tied to McCarthy coming to coach the team. Everybody knew the impact his head coach had on him, and now, Rodgers has put that impact into words. “I obviously molded a lot of my philosophies based on playing under him, so to just have that common idea about how the offense should run and what it needs to look like is really fun,” Rodgers said in a recent Zoom interview with Wisconsin media, per Steelers Depot. “I couldn’t do it with a new coach. He could just let me go sometimes, and then sometimes he’d have to call me in on a Monday and say, ‘Listen, you changed 10 plays. Can we just go through why you changed these 10 plays?’ “We’d talk it out, and he’d see my side, and we always kind of met back in the middle on that. That was the beauty in the success that we had. It was a lot of push and pull. He gave me a lot of latitude, and I proved that I deserved latitude and could make it work, and when I went too far, he’d rein me back in.” This dynamic was directly responsible for Aaron Rodgers’ Super Bowl XLV win, four MVP titles, and 10 Pro Bowls. Even as McCarthy left the Packers after 2018, the lessons he ingrained in Rodgers never left him. From having a hard time behind Brett Favre to Rodgers’ rise to stardom, McCarthy saw it all. And that culture has now been installed again in McCarthy’s hometown. Rodgers and McCarthy's complicated dynamic just got more transparent. Subscribe to stay updated on how this relationship shapes the Jets' season ahead. Trending Articles
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