Article On Aaron Rodgers Suggests Matt LaFleur Is In For A Challenge

Normally it would be past the point to talk about former Titans coaches and coordinators. After all, I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re all interested in what’s happening now, or what’s going to happen with this current regime. Let’s let the members of the old regimes breathe a little.

Well, today something interesting happened, interesting enough that I felt the need to discuss it here at Music City Miracles. Bleacher Report’s Tyler Dunne published a piece on the relationship between former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and current quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and the piece itself revealed their relationship was toxic since the day McCarthy took over as Packers head coach in 2006.

The article itself is incredible, and I highly recommend reading it.

So from what I can gather from the piece, Rodgers held a grudge against McCarthy since the 2005 NFL Draft, when the 49ers—whom McCarthy was the offensive coordinator for—chose Utah’s Alex Smith with the number one pick over Rodgers, who played for Cal. And based on the information available, Rodgers never let McCarthy live it down either, even as they were racking up division titles and a Super Bowl.

According to the article, Rodgers “changed ¹⁄₃ of the play calls McCarthy gave him,” which isn’t surprising considering the Packers offense got stale in McCarthy’s last four years with the organization. Even Rodgers’ opinion of his former coach—reportedly claiming he “had a low football IQ” doesn’t really surprise me, as there have been a few occasions over the Rodgers-McCarthy regime where Rodgers not-so-subtly expressed his frustrations over the play calling.

What is surprising is how the article reveals how manipulative Rodgers was to rookie receivers.

This isn’t the surprising part, it’s just math.

Uh, what?

That sounds pretty selfish...

Wow. So there’s a lot to pack in here. I could go on, but the rest of the article describes the situation perfectly.

Obviously this ties in with the Titans because former offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur is now the head coach of the Packers. If these reports and anonymous sources are accurate, LaFleur has a monumental task ahead of him in regards to making Rodgers happy as well as developing the younger receivers in Green Bay.

According to the article, Rodgers had some mixed reactions on the hiring of LaFleur itself, as revealed in this section where former Packer receiver Greg Jennings was interviewed.

One has to think LaFleur isn’t happy about the report. Who knows what’s true and what’s not, but this piece makes Rodgers look pretty bad. And if it’s of any indication, LaFleur is in for a hell of a time trying to appease his new quarterback.