CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is strolling down the quarterback aisle next to Aaron Rodgers. And if Tomlin counts any close friends, now would be their cue to speak. <\/p>\n
Rodgers has divorced two straight franchises under contentious grounds. He hasn\u2019t made the playoffs since 2021. He is not the football partner Tomlin thinks, but when reporters asked about Rodgers\u2019 arrival at Steelers minicamp last week, the coach cracked a contented smile. <\/p>\n
\u201cRead his resume,\u201d Tomlin said this week. \u201cWe\u2019re excited about him being here. He\u2019s excited about being here. But we\u2019ll make no bold predictions. We\u2019re just gonna roll our sleeves up and go to work and let our efforts do the talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ah, yes. The Work, aka the Reality Check. In life, like in football, true love only lasts so long. And minicamp quotes, like the honeymoon phase, are no measure of compatibility. <\/p>\n
Time will tell whether 41-year-old Rodgers, two years removed from a torn Achilles, can still spin the ball well enough to raise Pittsburgh\u2019s recent 10-win ceiling (Father Time\u2019s guess: no). But I can surmise today, June 16, that this podcast-guest quarterback and his all-business boss will mix poorly. And I can point to each man\u2019s lengthy track record as evidence. <\/p>\n
Start with Tomlin, whose \u201cwinning is our business\u201d mantra suggests little patience for outside distractions. Don\u2019t get me wrong, Pittsburgh has rostered plenty of mercurial players over the years, including (but not limited to) Antonio Brown, Le\u2019Veon Bell and George Pickens. All enjoyed success with the Steelers. But Pickens and Brown were eventually traded, and Bell left the team due to a contract dispute. <\/p>\n
Typically, Tomlin cuts bait when his Tylenol dosage outweighs a player\u2019s talent. And as Rodgers enters his 21st season, he\u2019s inching closer to the Steelers coach\u2019s headache threshold. <\/p>\n
Consider the quarterback\u2019s recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, a three-hour marathon that included conversations about COVID-19 vaccines, the trial of Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs, UFOs and transgender women in sports. Whatever your take on those topics, we can all agree they generate headlines. And we can all agree none fall under Tomlin\u2019s \u201cbusiness\u201d umbrella.<\/p>\n
Do you believe in aliens, coach? With Rodgers under center, this counts as a football question. Tomlin can (and will) beat such inquiries away. And if Pittsburgh is winning, the Steelers can (and will) stomach Rodgers\u2019 side quests. <\/p>\n
But the Jets grew sick of his free thinking after a 5-12 season. Despite New York\u2019s unstable quarterback room and Rodgers\u2019 respectable 2024 stat line \u2014 63% completion rate, 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns, 11 interceptions \u2014 New York agreed to part ways with the future Hall of Famer this offseason. And according to The Athletic\u2019s Dianna Russini<\/a>, part of their impasse related to Rodgers\u2019 \u201cPat McAfee Show\u201d appearances. <\/p>\n Rodgers guest stars every Tuesday during the season, and he\u2019s never boring. In the past two years alone, he\u2019s started news cycles concerning the Jeffery Epstein files, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Kimmel and the Epstein files, and, once again, the COVID-19 vaccine (a Rodgers favorite). Tomlin meets with local reporters on Tuesdays, too. Wonder how many questions he\u2019ll field next season about Rodgers\u2019 latest tangent. Wonder how many wins the resulting headaches are worth. <\/p>\n And as minicamp ends, giving Rodgers more free time, I\u2019m wondering which of Tomlin\u2019s friends will save him from a bad football marriage. <\/p>\n \u201cA big attraction (to the Steelers) was Mike Tomlin,\u201d Rodgers said last week. \u201cI\u2019ve gone against him over the years. The way that the conversations went between him and I \u2026 was some of the coolest conversations I\u2019ve had in the game, definitely with a head coach. He\u2019s a big reason I\u2019m here. I believe in him, and I\u2019m excited to play for him.”<\/p>\n