At this point, everyone has watched the clip at least once of Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin and Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers smiling back at each other after Tomlin called a timeout to wipe out an opportunity for Rodgers and the Packers to take advantage of the Steelers.
In case you haven’t, here it is.
The interaction comes just days after Rodgers spoke lavishly on The Pat McAfee Show about the city of Pittsburgh, Tomlin, the Steelers, and even Pittsburgh Dad, fueling speculation that the future first-ballot Hall of Fame will land with the Steelers in the offseason after going through a battle with the Packers last offseason.
The interaction between Tomlin and Rodgers simply fanned the flames of that speculation, leading to Rodgers being asked about the interaction after the Packers’ 27-17 win.
“It’s a lot of respect. I haven’t spent time with him, but I’ve watched him from afar for a long time…a lot of respect for him,” Rodgers said to reporters following the game, according to the official transcript. “I just enjoy that way that he talks about his players. I’ve had some friends play over there and the stories are very consistent with the kind of day-to-day coach that he is. I like his demeanor. He fits that Iron City perfectly. A lot of respect.”
Clearly, Tomlin has a lot of respect for Rodgers as well, considering the head nod and the smile, knowing he got one over on Rodgers in that situation.
Pump the brakes on a future pairing between Tomlin and Rodgers though. While it’s fun to speculate and create the marriage in one’s own head, it’s pretty farfetched as we sit here now.
That said, it was a ton of fun to see that on Sunday between Tomlin — who is highly regarded around the league by coaches, executives and players — and Rodgers, who is still considered one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
