No player in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ locker room has as much perspective on the NFL and its history as quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers turned 42 earlier this month and is in his 21st season in the NFL, having spent his first 18 with the Green Bay Packers and the past two with the New York Jets. So, Rodgers appreciates the fact that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has yet to endure a losing season since being hired in 2007. The Steelers need to only split two of their last four games to run Tomlin’s streak to 19 seasons.
"It's really impressive," Rodgers said on Thursday during his weekly media availability. "We had a run, 2009-16 where we didn't miss the playoffs in Green Bay and won the division a number of times during that stretch. It creates an expectation of winning, and the winning gets ingrained in the culture. And I think there's a lot to be said for that. It's not overt; it's just kind of the foundational part of the locker room, and the team is an expectation of winning.
"When you're a part of an organization like that, which I was in Green Bay and then didn't have it in New York, it makes a big difference. Teams that don't have that ingrained in it, there's always the opportunity to do it. It just takes the right people and the right timing, and the right coaching to kind of put it together, and you learn how to win.”
Rodgers enjoys again being with a franchise with an excellent tradition.
"When you've been in a place that has a history of excellence like Green Bay with the 1960s on, like Pittsburgh with the 1970s on, it's just kind of understood when you walk in the door that winning is the most important thing,” Rodgers said. “And like the great Vince Lombardi said, it's the only thing that really matters."
Tomlin has his share of critics, though. They point to the fact that the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016 or been to the Super Bowl since 2010, Tomlin’s fourth season in Pittsburgh. However, Tomlin has a big fan in Rodgers.
“I think every team is looking for that special sauce of a coach who can lead and be consistent and be involved, understand how to delegate, lead when it needs to be done, and they don't have to fill every space with words,” Rodgers said. “I think that's one of his greatest gifts as a head coach. In my time here, short time, obviously, I don't feel like he's ever tried to fill a space with unnecessary words.
"That might seem like a small thing, but it's actually a very meaningful thing. Sometimes, the more words that are said, the more opportunities for panic or freak-out that can happen. And he's very concise and to the point with the objectives each week, with the opponent that we're playing, and with the expectations for us as a football team. I have a unique perspective, and guys who have played elsewhere have a unique perspective coming in here. But the guys that are here should understand how special it is to have a guy like that leading the team."