Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy spent 12 seasons together in Green Bay, won a Super Bowl, and reunited in Pittsburgh this year. On Thursday night, a hot mic reminded everybody why the first run ended.
In the first quarter of the Steelers’ 27-24 loss in Cleveland, Amazon’s broadcast picked up Rodgers yelling toward his own sideline about a play-call arriving late.
“What the [expletive], call it,” Rodgers said.
McCarthy’s response was not picked up cleanly, but viewers lip-read it as a two-word insult aimed back at his quarterback.
The internet had a field day
ESPN’s Daniel Jeremiah went with a sitcom reference: “Rodgers and McCarthy giving me Married with Children vibes. Rodgers playing the role of Al Bundy.”
Skip Bayless called Rodgers a “finger-pointing diva.” Pro Football Network’s Alex Kennedy said the two were “bickering like an old married couple.”
That last one is probably the most accurate, and it is also the least alarming reading.
This is not a new dynamic between them
McCarthy and Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV in Green Bay. McCarthy was fired by the Packers in 2018 after a 4-7-1 start. Rodgers has publicly described their partnership as including both amazing times and stretches where they butted heads.
So a shouting match over play-call timing is roughly on brand for a relationship that produced a championship and a messy ending.
The context in Pittsburgh is different, though. McCarthy was hired this year to succeed Mike Tomlin, which means he inherited a locker room with its own standards and a quarterback who turns 43 in December and is in his 22nd NFL season.
The offense is the actual story
Here is what should worry Pittsburgh more than the audio. The Steelers’ offense ranked 30th in the league entering Week 4.
Rodgers had thrown for 700 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions through three games, an average of 233.3 yards per game. He went 24-of-40 for 221 yards and a touchdown in a 20-13 win over Atlanta, then 23-of-39 for 187 yards with no touchdowns and an interception in a 20-3 loss at New England, then 19-of-34 for 292 yards with three touchdowns and a pick in a 30-27 win over Cincinnati.
In Cleveland he was sacked five times, took 10 quarterback hits and threw a late interception to Denzel Ward. Pittsburgh fell to 2-2. The Browns moved to 3-1 and first place in the AFC North.
An offense that cannot get a play-call in on time and ranks 30th in the NFL has a process problem, and process problems are the head coach’s department.
What has not happened
Neither Rodgers nor McCarthy commented on the exchange after the game. No fine has been issued, no discipline has been announced, and the Steelers have released no statement.
Treat this as sideline friction rather than a confirmed rift, because that is all the reporting supports.
Our take
Quarterbacks and coaches scream at each other every week and most of the time nobody hears it. The only reason this is a story is the microphone and the history.
The reason it might become a real story is the record. At 2-2 with the 30th-ranked offense, a 42-year-old quarterback and a coach replacing a franchise institution, Pittsburgh does not have much margin for the Green Bay sequel.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.