Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy are currently in their 13th season together, 11 of those with Rodgers as the starting quarterback. Over that span, the duo has nine playoff appearances and a Super Bowl win. Impressive, but far from Brady-Belichick numbers, and perhaps a bit underwhelming for a player some consider to be among the greatest of all time.
This season has proven to be one of their most trying seasons yet. With the Packers at 4-5-1, two and a half games behind the division-leading Bears, reports indicate there is a rift between Rodgers and McCarthy — and it could spell the end of the coach’s tenure in Green Bay.
“Mike McCarthy is certainly now on the hot seat for Green Bay,” NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said. “He needs to close strong, it feels like, to keep his job in Green Bay. Obviously, one of the longest tenured coaches in the NFL and that is all in doubt.
“And here’s a couple reasons why: One of them does involve the disconnect with Aaron Rodgers — the tension there regarding the direction of the offense. Rodgers has been pretty vocal about his frustration with play-calling, and the lack of creativity was there on Thursday night. That, of course, is something [Packers] CEO Mark Murphy will have to make a big decision on at the end of the year.”
The Packers had one of their worst losses of the year against the Seahawks on Thursday. After building a 21-17 halftime lead, the offense scored three points in the second half. Rodgers was sacked four times, and the offense mustered 114 yards — half of those coming on one 57-yard strike to Davante Adams.
Rodgers hasn’t been shy about calling out the offense this year. After a Week 4 victory over the Bills — even after a 22-0 domination — Rodgers had some choice words about what he felt was an underwhelming offensive performance.
“We were championship defensive level and non-playoff team offensive level today,” he said. “That was not great by any stretch of the imagination. We need to find ways to get our playmakers in position to get some more opportunities.
“A game like today, Davante is a tough cover for anybody, but he should have had 20 targets today. They couldn’t stop him. They dared to play one-high a few times. So, we have to find ways to get him the ball and Jimmy [Graham], as well.”
He eventually clarified he was being critical of himself, rather than McCarthy.
“There’s frustration in this business and that’s what Mike always says — conflict is good,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers also has been vocal all year about getting running back Aaron Jones more involved in the offense. Jones currently leads the NFL with a whopping 6.4 yards per carry, but he is only touching the ball 12.5 times per game. That’s a lower rate than mid-tier backs like Peyton Barber, Isaiah Crowell and Lamar Miller.
Jones’ touches are definitely on the upswing, with 18 in each of the past two games, resulting in his two biggest games of the season (275 total yards and four touchdowns over that span). Still, it seemingly took McCarthy half the season to realize he had such an explosive talent in the backfield.
“When you bring [Jones] back on the field like we did last week, you kind of forget the type of dynamic abilities he can bring to a game with his running style,” Rodgers said in September, weeks before Jones’ breakout. “He’s a different type of runner than we’ve had here in a while. You’ve gotta find ways to get him the ball.”
Rodgers’ frustration was brewing this offseason when the team, without conferring with him, let go of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and released go-to receiver Jordy Nelson.
With McCarthy firmly on the hot seat, there might be another change this coming offseason that Rodgers would support.