New Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike McCarthy Weighs On Aaron Rodgers Returning For 2026 Season
If you had told a Steelers fan in 2011 that the opposing head coach would one day be leading the black and gold, you’d probably have been laughed at. If you added that he might be bringing Aaron Rodgers along for the ride in 2026? You’d be checked for a concussion. Yet, here we are. The NFL scriptwriters are working overtime.
On Tuesday, the Steelers officially introduced Mike McCarthy as the 17th head coach in franchise history. It’s a homecoming for McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native, but nobody was really asking about his childhood in Greenfield. They wanted to know about the elephant in the room. Or rather, the 42-year-old quarterback contemplating his existence somewhere off the grid.
The question on every reporter’s lips was simple: Do you want Aaron Rodgers back? McCarthy didn’t flinch. He didn’t give the usual coach-speak word salad about “evaluating the roster” or “looking at the tape.” He kept it blunt. “Definitely,” McCarthy said, looking dead at the press corps. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t.”
McCarthy and Rodgers: A Complicated Tango
It’s impossible to ignore the sheer weight of history here. For 13 seasons in Green Bay, McCarthy and Rodgers were the NFL’s premier power couple. They made the playoffs nine times. They won a Super Bowl. They also had a breakup that was, to put it mildly, frosty.
When McCarthy was fired by the Packers in 2018, the narrative was that the relationship had soured beyond repair. But time, and perhaps the realization that winning in this league is incredibly hard, seems to have healed some wounds. McCarthy admitted Tuesday that he has already spoken to Rodgers, calling the veteran QB a “great asset.”
It’s a fascinating pivot. Rodgers originally signed with Pittsburgh largely because of his respect for Mike Tomlin. With Tomlin gone, the logic suggested Rodgers might pack his bags and head for retirement. But bringing in the guy who helped him win his only ring? That’s a plot twist that might just be crazy enough to work.
Can the Old Guns Still Fire?
Let’s strip away the nostalgia for a second and look at the football reality. We aren’t in 2011 anymore. Rodgers is coming off a season where the Steelers made the playoffs but exited with a whimper against the Houston Texans. That game ended not with a Rodgers Hail Mary, but with a pick-six where the aging legend tried, and failed, to make a tackle. It was a sad visual, the kind that makes you wonder if the tank is truly empty.
McCarthy acknowledges the wear and tear. He noted that guys at this stage of their career need time to “decompress.” That’s a polite way of saying Rodgers needs to go do whatever Rodgers does before deciding if he wants to take another hit from Myles Garrett.
“The game is so emotional,” McCarthy said. “What these men commit to and what they put into it… I think that time away is important.”
The Steelers’ Plan B (and Why Plan A Is Better)
If Rodgers decides to hang up the cleats, McCarthy isn’t left entirely empty-handed. He expressed excitement about Will Howard, the 2025 draft pick, and even mentioned Mason Rudolph. “I’m anxious to work with him,” McCarthy said of Howard.
But let’s be real. You don’t hire McCarthy to rebuild with a developmental quarterback. You hire McCarthy because you want to win right now. Art Rooney II might say the hiring wasn’t solely about enticing Rodgers, but it’s hard to believe it wasn’t a massive factor. This franchise is tired of being “competitive.” They want to be champions.
The Ball Is in Aaron’s Court
So, where does this leave us? We have a new coach who is openly courting his old quarterback. We have a franchise desperate to break a postseason stagnation. And we have a quarterback who loves a good narrative almost as much as he loves a back-shoulder fade.
The Steelers have left the door wide open. McCarthy has laid out the welcome mat. Now, we wait. Will Rodgers ride off into the sunset, or does he have one more chapter left to write with the coach who started it all?
