For Aaron Rodgers to succeed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he’s going to have to build relationships with his new teammates and coaching staff. That doesn’t only happen on the field, and Rodgers’ new head coach is helping him get to know those in the organization.
Mike Tomlin recently hosted a gathering with Rodgers and some members of the Steelers’ coaching staff, according to Kelvin Reynolds of WBRC 6 News in Alabama.
Tomlin hired Archibald’s BBQ owner Woodrow Washington to cook for the event. Washington is a close friend of Steelers defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, as the two are fraternity brothers. According to Reynolds, Tomlin regularly eats at Washington’s restaurant when he attends University of Alabama Pro Days.
It appears that Rodgers was the only player at the cookout. Regardless, it’s good to see him bonding with the coaching staff. It’s also not surprising that Mike Tomlin wanted Rodgers there. Tomlin was reportedly the driving force behind Pittsburgh’s decision to sign Rodgers after a drawn-out process.
The two have long had respect for each other. We even saw a glimpse of that during the Steelers’ win over the Jets in Pittsburgh last season. The two shared a head nod after Tomlin called a timeout before Rodgers could catch the Steelers with too many men on the field.
Their mutual respect was evident this offseason as well. During the past few months, Tomlin and the Steelers have been heavily criticized for waiting so long for Rodgers to make a decision due to personal issues. After he signed, Rodgers spoke about being grateful for the way Tomlin handled the situation.
Throughout that process, plenty of people said plenty of negative things about Rodgers and the way he might adversely affect the Steelers. For now, he’s not bringing any of the entitlement so many expected from him. Rookie sixth-round pick Will Howard has mentioned a few times how helpful Rodgers has been to him.
Of course, it is only June. We’ll have to see how things play out as the season progresses. Especially if there ends up being some rocky times during the year. For now, it seems like Aaron Rodgers’ introduction to the organization is going well.
