Aaron Rodgers lost his cool as he was grilled during his postgame press conference following the Pittsburgh Steelers’ elimination.
Rodgers and the Steelers’ season came to an end on Monday night when they suffered a 30-6 blowout defeat to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card playoffs round.
The brutal exit leaves the future of both the quarterback and head coach Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh in doubt with questions left over whether either will be returning to The Steel City next season.
Following the game, Rodgers was questioned not only about his own future and the possibility of retirement but also Tomlin’s job security.
The 42-year-old initially had nothing but glowing words for the coach as he endorsed Tomlin following their season together.
However, the former Super Bowl winner couldn’t hide his frustrated as he snapped back at a reporter when pressed further on the coach.
Aaron Rodgers lost his cool during his postgame press conference after playoff elimination
Rodgers and the Steelers’ season came to an end with a 30-6 defeat to the Houston Texans
‘I’ve answered that a number of times. I’ve talked extensively about how I feel about Mike and I just did in that f***ing answer,’ he hit back with an exasperated sigh.
The veteran then abruptly wrapped up the press conference, curtly thanking to the media and swiftly exiting the room.
Rodgers’ terse outburst came after he had taken a minute to reflect and discuss Tomlin’s standing amid the ceaseless NFL coaching carousel.
‘This league has changed a lot in my 21 years,’ Rodgers reflected. ‘You know, when you hear a conversation about the Mike Tomlins of the world, Matt LaFleur’s of the world, those are two that I played for.
‘And when I first got in the league, there wouldn’t be conversation about whether those guys were on the hot seat. But the way that the league is covered now and the way that there’s snap decisions and the validity given to the Twitter experts and all the experts on TV now who make it seem like they know what the hell they’re talking about.
‘To me, that’s an absolute joke. And for either of those two guys to be on the hot seat is really apropos of where we’re at as a society in the league, because obviously Matt’s done a lot of great things in Green Bay, and we had a lot of success.
‘Mike T’s had more success than damn near anybody in the league, you know, for the last 19, 20 years.’
Monday’s crushing playoff defeat marked the ninth straight season without a postseason victory for Tomlin, making him the first coach in Steelers’ history to do so.
The veteran quarterback issued a glowing endorsement of head coach Mike Tomlin (pictured)
Rodgers coughed up a pair of fumbles, was sacked four times and threw for only 146 yards
Yet, despite the Steelers’ postseason win drought extending, Rodgers warned that Pittsburgh should give careful consideration before pulling the trigger on Tomlin’s fate.
‘And more than that, though, when you have the right guy and the culture is right, you don’t think about making a change,’ Rodgers argued.
‘But there’s a lot of pressure that comes from the outside. And obviously, that sways decisions from time to time. But it’s not how I would do things, and not how the league used to be.’
The game not only marked the potential end of Tomlin’s stint in Pittsburgh but also of Rodgers’ career.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback floundered and fumbled as he bowed out with a humiliating defeat to the red-hot Houston Texans.
Rodgers coughed up a pair of fumbles, was sacked four times and threw for only 146 yards in a 30-6 defeat.
The final Texans score of the night came from a humiliating Rodgers pick-six – his last pass of the night and maybe the last pass he’ll ever throw.
Rodgers, 42, hinted in the preseason that this could be his final season in the NFL – regardless of the level of success he achieved.
‘No, I’m not going to make any emotional decisions,’ Rodgers told reporters when asked after the game about his future, adding that the next steps involve a moment to ‘get away’ and ‘have the right conversations.’
Rodgers admitted, as reported in the game by ESPN’s Lisa Salters, that his career is ‘probably’ over after this game – further adding that ‘this feels like the end’.
