Aaron Rodgers has shown his true colours with | NFL News

Aaron Rodgers has praised Pittsburgh boss Mike Tomlin forward of their 2025 season opener. Rodgers, who not too long ago joined the Steelers, has been a long-time admirer of Tomlin, the NFL‘s longest-serving head coach.

Rodgers and his crew will face off against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in a Week 1 showdown on Sunday. The 41-year-old will make his debut for a NFL third crew, donning the Steelers colours under the steerage of a coach he has grown to respect even more since shifting to Pennsylvania. Rodgers defended Tomlin after his play-off document was scrutinised earlier this 12 months. Tomlin, 53, guided Pittsburgh to Super Bowl glory in 2009 and has only missed the post-season six instances in his 18 seasons with the franchise. But despite the crew not progressing past the wild card play-offs since 2017, Rodgers was fast to protect his new boss from any criticism.

“Mike T is the man. Any hate, disrespect and the ilk is complete and utter bull****,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show before the pre-season kicked off this summer time. “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 means that he leads the room, the way in which that he talks in the crew assembly, the way in which he’s in observe. The shock has been just what a great dude he’s, what a great chief he’s, on top of what I already anticipated, which was already high based on what I assumed from afar, but having the ability to see it in individual is unimaginable.”

This marks the fifth consecutive season that Pittsburgh will field a different quarterback in their opening fixture. Following a disappointing stint with the Jets, doubts remain over which iteration of Rodgers supporters will see donning the Steelers jersey.

Tomlin split his quarterback duties between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, whom he has rated highly, last campaign in a partnership that failed to deliver as hoped. However, in Rodgers, he possesses another established champion with comparable capability to revolutionise Pittsburgh’s prospects.

During a previous guest spot on The Pat McAfee Show in 2021, Rodgers expressed equally glowing sentiments about the respected Steelers boss. This praise arguably carried even greater weight at the time given Rodgers remained content in Green Bay and was nowhere near joining the Pittsburgh setup.

“I’ve been around a lot of Pittsburgh people over the years, and I’ve liked my time with all of them,” said Rodgers. “I’ve realized to communicate the language rather well… It’s a great blue-collar city. It’s obtained a lot of historical past, that metropolis.

“Mike Tomlin, been there forever…I have a ton of respect for Mike, I think he’s a fantastic coach, I love the way that he leads, I love the way that he talks after games, he also seems to keep things really even-keeled, and it looks like he’s somebody that the players love playing for.”

Tomlin, who has appointed his new quarterback as captain forward of the contemporary marketing campaign, has returned the praise by lauding Rodgers’ talents and holds the very best regard for what his signal-caller has achieved beforehand. Prior to the new season, the Steelers chief said “you don’t fall into the career he’s had,” acknowledging Rodgers’ numerous accomplishments and milestones in the game.

Sunday’s encounter against the Jets will present supporters their initial indication of what to anticipate from Rodgers, who was reportedly contemplating retirement before penning phrases in Pittsburgh. However, one facet that stays past doubt is Rodgers’ reverence and esteem for a gaffer he is regarded so extremely for an prolonged period.