Aaron Rodgers has been direct in the fact that Mike Tomlin was a driving force in bringing him to Pittsburgh for what will likely be his final season in the NFL. Rodgers and Tomlin have long had a mutual respect that has been caught on NFL cameras during their contests against one another over the years.
Still, both player and coach are, in a way, aiming to restore the respect to their names and Hall of Fame resumes. Rodgers has had three straight down years, including an Achilles injury that derailed what was hoped to be a promising comeback in New York in 2023. Tomlin, despite having never suffered a losing season, hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016.
The duo has come together for one big, all-in push to get the Steelers franchise back to where it belongs at the top of the AFC mountain. And Rodgers is backing his head coach all the way.
Aaron Rodgers delivers emphatic praise for Mike Tomlin from Pittsburgh Steelers camp
“Mike T is the man,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show, live from Steelers training camp in Latrobe on Wednesday. “Any hate, disrespect, and ilk is complete and utter bulls–t. Mike T is the man.”
While orchestrating a camera shot of himself to deliver his point, Rodgers pointed back to his and Tomlin’s early interactions that initially made him feel welcome in Pittsburgh.
“From day one that we talked on the phone on the offseason, I was never talking to a head coach, I was talking to a friend,” Rodgers said. “I respected the hell out of that. I have crazy respect for him, the way he leads the room, the way that he talks in the team meeting, the way he is at practice… the surprise has been what agreat dude he is, what a great leader he is, on top of what I already expected, which was already high based on what I thought from afar. But being able to see it in person is incredible.”
Rodgers went on to add that his opinion of Tomlin has only been strengthened by his time at training camp, and seeing how his teammates gravitate toward the head coach as well.
“He’s the type of guy that every great coach makes you want to play for, and what I mean, to expand on that is - you care so deeply about the person, you don’t want to let them down,” Rodgers said. “And that’s the aura and that's the respect that Mike has from his players. You want to play for this guy because you know how much he cares, and you don’t want to let him down.”
"Mike Tomlin is the man..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 30, 2025
From day one that we talked on the phone in the offseason I knew that I was talking to a friend..
He's such a great leader and I have so much respect for him" ~ @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/lrEYQhxaZv
Rodgers immediately followed up all of that praise by mentioning that he and the Packers beat the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, which the fans in Latrobe didn’t appreciate. They followed up with an expletive chant about the Packers that Rodgers had to shrug off.
READ MORE: The biggest surprise of Steelers camp isn’t who fans expected
Tomlin has and always will be a players' coach. He’s routinely voted as one of the top coaches that NFL players around the league would like to play for. But the aura that Rodgers mentioned is waning due to the lack of success in recent seasons. Hopefully, with all of the additions Tomlin has brought in alongside GM Omar Khan, the Steelers can begin to repair Tomlin’s image.
After all, much of the disrespect and ilk for Tomlin Rodgers mentioned does come from an exhausted fanbase. Some of it doesn’t, which is an ironic crossover with many of the folks who support some of the things Rodgers says on McAfee’s show from time to time. Nonetheless, fans just want to see the team win. If Rodgers can’t deliver it any better than Russell Wilson, Kenny Pickett, and Mitchell Trubisky before him, he’ll get the same treatment.
Overall, Rodgers didn’t say much that Steelers fans haven’t heard before. Many agree with everything he said. They just want substance behind the platitudes so that they don’t ring so hollow.