Wednesday afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys officially introduced Mike McCarthy as the new head coach of America’s Team. The man who previously spent more than a decade with the Green Bay Packers before getting fired had a new job. Of course, this news meant that there would now be questions about how his former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, reacted.
According to multiple reporters, Rodgers sent texts to McCarthy that offered congratulations for his new job. The pair exchanged messages, but he did not reveal the details. Although Rodgers did say that he might be campaigning for the Packers to head out to Oxnard, California, for some preseason practice sessions with the Cowboys.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The reason this was a talking point on Wednesday is the manner in which McCarthy’s tenure ended. He was fired after an upset loss at the hands of the woebegone 2-8 Arizona Cardinals. The Packers were 4-6-1 at the time but were expected to handily defeat the NFC West team.
The loss sealed McCarthy’s fate, but this was only part of a season in which there was a rumored rift by the coach and his starting quarterback. There was even a belief at the time that Rodgers had been wanting McCarthy gone for quite some time.
According to a 2018 article by Bleacher Report, Rodgers and McCarthy did not get along throughout their 13-year tenure together in Wisconsin. There were certainly signs, such as the quarterback reportedly yelling “Stupid f–ing call!” at McCarthy during the 2017 season.
“Aaron’s always had a chip on his shoulder with Mike,” former Packers’ running back Ryan Grant told Bleacher Report. “The guy who ended up becoming your coach passed on you when he had a chance. Aaron was upset that Mike passed on him – that Mike actually verbally said that Alex Smith was a better quarterback.”
Rodgers did ultimately respond to the Bleacher Report article, saying that he “loves” McCarthy. He also referred to the report as a “smear attack” and said that there were no issues co-existing with his former head coach. Rodgers said that the relationship was one filled with trust.
Despite the comments from Rodgers, the rumors about his role in McCarthy getting fired continued throughout the 2019 season as he adjusted to a new coach in Matt LaFleur. Now he appears to have shut them down for good after reaching out to McCarthy in order to offer congratulations.
(Photo Credit: Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
