Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy visibly got into it last Thursday in a surprising loss to the Cleveland Browns. Rodgers could be seen swearing toward his head coach, demanding play calls get in faster. McCarthy was spotted responding with his own harsh language.
The loss dropped the Pittsburgh Steelers to 2-2 on the year with 13 games still to be played. Yet analyst, and former NFL quarterback, Chris Simms expressed concern about the potential fallout from Rodgers yelling at his head coach.
Aaron Rodgers Setting a Bad Example
Simms warned about the impact of Rodgers essentially showing up his coach could have on the rest of the roster.
“You don’t want Rodgers, who’s only gonna be here for the rest of this year, to make Mike McCarthy look incompetent,” Simms said on “PFT Live.”
Simms mentioned how the negative interactions were visible for all to see right from the start of the game. Rodgers was showing intense frustration and the players alongside him on the field surely noticed.
“You do worry that that undermines McCarthy to the rest of the team,” Simms added.
The 2026 Steelers are a unique team because McCarthy just showed up as head coach, while Rodgers is in his final NFL season. The history between the two makes the situation even more unique. What the Steelers don’t want to happen is for Rodgers to spend the year yelling at McCarthy in front of the rest of the team. That would not give players much confidence in the head coach in the future.
A Problem to Address in Pittsburgh
McCarthy and Rodgers may simply decide to ignore the outside noise and continue on doing whatever they want. Yet the latter may be wise to take it down a notch for the sake of the organization.
The Steelers have a very winnable set of games coming up that may help smooth things over. The team hosts the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, followed by a road game against the Baker Mayfield-less Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Week 7 features an international showdown against the New Orleans Saints in Paris, before the Steelers return home for a rematch against the Browns in Week 8. A bye week follows in Week 9.
Getting to 6-2 or even 5-3 should put the Steelers in a positive headspace heading into the bye. However, a surprise loss or two, or three, during this stretch may lead to a breaking point between the quarterback and head coach.
Winning solves all and that will be the sole focus for the duo as they continue one final season together.
Aaron Rodgers At Risk of Making Mike McCarthy ‘Look Incompetent’