Aaron Rodgers beats back Mike Tomlin critics

Mike Tomlin might stop short of embracing his critics, but the Pittsburgh Steelers' coach has said the unsolicited assessments of his performance come with the territory in his profession.

New Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has other ideas about slinging arrows at Tomlin.

"Mike T is the man. Any hate, disrespect and the ilk is complete and utter bullshit," Rodgers said Wednesday in a live interview at training camp with the visiting "Pat McAfee Show."

"Mike T is the man. From Day 1 that we talked on the phone in the offseason, I was never talking to a head coach. I was talking to a friend. I respected the hell out of that. The way that he leads the room, the way that he talks in the team meeting, the way he is in practice. The surprise has been, just, what a great 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 took his time coming to terms with the Steelers after two painful seasons with the Jets. He tore his Achilles on the opening series of his tenure with the team in 2023 and the redemption tour never left the runway in 2024 after a slow start that led to New York firing head coach Robert Saleh.

Rodgers was released by the Jets, who signed former Steelers quarterback Justin Fields to start this season.

Tomlin told McAfee on Wednesday there was no hesitation in signing Rodgers after their initial conversation proved they were in alignment on their goals and mission.

"He's here and here in a mindset that's aligned with us. He's here and here to win a world championship for this group," Tomlin said.

Rodgers won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in 2010, beating Tomlin and the Steelers for his only Lombardi Trophy.

--Field Level Media