Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy are back together once again, this time as members of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The quarterback is in his final NFL season, while McCarthy is back after a year away from the game.
The two have a ton of rapport and also have a Super Bowl title together. The opponent in that game? The Steelers.
McCarthy spoke to the media Monday as his team prepares to take on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. He was asked about his relationship with Rodgers in terms of designing the offense. McCarthy made it clear Rodgers’ experience was a huge benefit in designing this year’s scheme.
Steelers Wisely Building Around Aaron Rodgers
The head coach described their relationship as “constant collaboration” as he spoke to the media Monday, via Ashley Wenskoski. He went on to say, “We built this offense around his experience. We’ve made terminology changes. By no means do we want to slow him down.”
Rodgers does have familiarity with his former head coach. However, both individuals have evolved since they were last together in 2018. That is especially true for McCarthy, who revived his coaching career in Dallas from 2020-2024. He couldn’t lead the team to playoff success, but did finish with a 49-35 overall record in the regular season.
Building this new offense around Rodgers makes perfect sense. He is still among the best quarterbacks to ever play the game and is playing at a high level at the age of 42. The last thing McCarthy wants to do, as he noted, is to show up and confuse the veteran quarterback in any way.
Outlook for 2026 Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers are an intriguing team because of Rodgers. Will he elevate everyone around him and revert to his former ways, or will he look like a 42-year-old ready for retirement?
ESPN conducted its annual NFL preview and included both best and worst-case scenarios for each team in terms of the final record. The Steelers were given a best-case scenario of 11-6, with a worst-case scenario of 6-11. This seems fair given the unknowns with Rodgers and his offensive line.
The good news for the team is the fact they open up against a Falcons team that just named Tua Tagovailoa as the starting quarterback Monday. Head coach Kevin Stefanski waited until the last minute and seemed to go with Tagovailoa by default. That should mean the Steelers defense can feast against a quarterback who has struggled all summer.
Fans will also get to see if the connection between Rodgers and McCarthy is still strong. Simplifying the offense to maximize the veteran quarterback’s strengths seem to point toward a promising 2026 campaign.
New Steelers HC Customized 2026 Offense For Aaron Rodgers