By now, the longstanding connection between the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach and starting quarterback tandem, Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers, is well chronicled. They reached historic heights in their 13 seasons together with the Green Bay Packers, but there were also documented rough patches, especially towards the end.
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows despite a decade-plus of dominance, including a Super Bowl XLV victory, which ironically came against the Steelers. McCarthy and Rodgers didn't always see eye to eye, to say the least, as Packers fans learned the hard way. However, their friction seems to be a thing of the past, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano.
During a recent appearance on Get Up, Graziano discussed the McCarthy-Rodgers dynamic in Green Bay and why their second stint is effectively a fresh start.
"Well, they were losing," Graziano stated. "I think the relationship is in a better place now because it's been more than seven years since they've lost a game together...
Rodgers has talked about this: it's kind of that time that's gone on in between has helped him sort of appreciate what he and Mike McCarthy had accomplished together [with the Packers], so I do think there's been a little bit of a softening of a relationship that was absolutely frayed, if not broken, by the end of Mike McCarthy's time in Green Bay."
NFL insider suggests Aaron Rodgers-Mike McCarthy drama is ancient history
Pittsburgh presents a blank slate, turning over a new leaf or whatever you want to call it, for McCarthy and Rodgers. What happened in Green Bay can't be undone. The only course of action is to move forward, and being apart for as long as they have has ostensibly rekindled their flame.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder, as Graziano alluded to. Rodgers has come to realize that the good outweighed the bad when he and McCarthy were firing on all cylinders with the Packers, and understandably so. Green Bay trailed only the Steelers and New England Patriots in regular-season wins from 2006 through 2018.
The McCarthy-Rodgers power struggle was very real and led to their ultimate downfall in Green Bay. The two sides weren't always on the same page, specifically regarding how the offense was run. On-field success aside, they weren't able to overcome the philosophical differences that drifted them apart to an untenable point of no return.
Rodgers, 42, ended his uncomfortable offseason standoff with Pittsburgh not long ago, officially returning to the club on a one-year contract worth "up to" $25 million." The four-time MVP then reported to the first day of organized team activities (OTAs) in short order.
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