It’s been a rollercoaster ride, but Aaron Rodgers is finally a Pittsburgh Steeler. The question now becomes, is this the peak of the Rodgers experience, or is there something left in the tank for the aging quarterback. For Mike Tomlin’s sake, he better hope for the latter.
At least, that’s what Chad Johnson of The Nightcap podcast believes. In a recent episode, the former Pro Bowl wide receiver talked about how much Tomlin is riding on the success of Rodgers. So much so that Johnson thinks it could cost him his job.
“If he doesn’t play well, players get coaches fired now,” said Johnson. “Tomlin could be on the hot seat…”
Johnson went on to surmise that they were already discussing letting him go last year, so another bad season after waiting for Rodgers and adding more drama to the offseason could spell the end of the Tomlin era.
It’s been a long time since the Steelers have had real consistency at the quarterback position. While he kept playing after the fact, the last impressive quarterback campaign Pittsburgh’s had came in 2018, the year before Ben Roethlisberger’s season-ending elbow injury. The reason for that is that they simply have been too good to be in a position to draft a successor and too bad to make a run at a Super Bowl. Since, the team has found themselves in football purgatory.
For the Steelers, their only real way to get out of that spot is to take on bargain-bin quarterbacks off the scrap heaps and hope they get a second-wind in Pittsburgh, or overdraft quarterbacks to fill a need. In some ways, it feels directionless.
The team has done both and failed each time. An easy solution would be for the team to blow it up and start fresh, positioning themselves for a high-end pick. But Tomlin seemingly finds a way to stay Wild Card competitive no matter the circumstances, making that circumstance to come to light.
The hosts of The Nightcap Tomlin’s biggest sin has been his inability to prepare for the future at quarterback like the Packers, Chiefs and others have. Now that lack of planning is rearing its ugly head, forcing the team to take a shot on Rodgers. Let’s hope it’s the right one because, if Johnson is to be believed, it could be his last.
