If Mike Tomlin is looking for an exit out of Pittsburgh, signing QB Aaron Rodgers might do the trick. That’s what ESPN’s Alan Hahn argued Tuesday on Get Up, believing no good would come from Rodgers joining the Steelers. Of course, with so many fans eager to run Tomlin out of town, adding Rodgers might be endorsed by many.
“If he wants that to end, I mean this is what happens, right?” Hahn said of Tomlin being the NFL’s longest-tenured active head coach. “[Rodgers] gets everybody fired.”
Rodgers is exiting the New York Jets along with virtually everyone else who was there for the start of his tenure. Head coach Robert Saleh was canned midway through the 2024 season while general manager Joe Douglas was fired six weeks later. There’s a brand-new coaching staff with many roster changes to follow, including WR Davante Adams, brought over specifically to pair with Rodgers, following him out the door.
Calls for Tomlin’s dismissal have intensified after another unsuccessful postseason bid. Pittsburgh’s now dropped six-straight playoff games, the NFL’s second-longest active streak, and hasn’t won in the postseason since making the AFC Championship Game in 2016. But armed with a $50 million contract, money Art Rooney II won’t eat, Tomlin is doubtful to be let go before his contract expires. Player confidence in him remains high, Tomlin receiving the only top Steelers marks in the NFLPA’s annual survey.
Hahn thinks Rodgers could came in and wreck all of that.
“That’s the first thing Aaron Rodgers will tell everybody is all the things that are not around me here,” he said. “So don’t blame me, it’s not my fault. These are the things we’ve learned about him at this stage of his career. Mike Tomlin, I’d be a little concerned if you made a move like that.”
Rodgers’ time in Pittsburgh, like Tomlin’s in this hypothetical, could be short. In his 40s with a body clearly breaking down thanks to a 2023 Achilles tear and lingering 2024 knee injury, Rodgers is likely to only play one more season. There’s still flashes of his Hall of Fame play but they’re far less frequent, and his addition wouldn’t make Pittsburgh a Super Bowl contender while giving the Steelers another blank slate entering 2026.
With little upside, it’s hard to see the incentive for Tomlin and the Steelers to want to bring Rodgers onboard. And so Tomlin’s job is safe. Much to the chagrin of the masses.
