Aaron Rodgers viscerally defends Mike Tomlin, calls any hate, disrespect 'utter bullshit'

After two seasons with the New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers seems like a new person in Pittsburgh. That could be due in part to working with longtime Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.

Rodgers hasn’t been shy about Tomlin’s influence on his decision to join the AFC North franchise. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, live from Steelers training camp, the four-time NFL MVP explained what playing for the Pittsburgh leader means to him.

“Mike T is the man. Any hate, disrespect and ilk is complete and utter bullshit. Mike T is the man,” Rodgers proclaimed. “From Day 1 that we talked on the phone in the off-season, I was never talking to a head coach, I was talking to a friend. I respected the hell out of that. I have crazy respect for him. The way that he leads the room, the way that he talks in the team meeting, the way he is in practice.

“The surprise has been just what a great dude he is. What a great leader he is. On top of what I already expected, which was already high, based on what I thought from a far. Being able to see it in person is incredible.

“He’s the type of guy that — every great coach makes you want to play for (them). What I mean, to expand on that is, you care so deeply about the person, you don’t want to let him down. That’s the aura, and that’s the respect that Mike has from his players. You want to play for this guy, because you know how much he cares and you don’t want to let him down.”

As you can tell, Rodgers is more than motivated to bring success to the Steelers because of his head coach. Whether or not that comes to fruition remains to be seen, but the duo seems like a match made in heaven for Pittsburgh.

The quarterback mulled retirement, and signing with the New York Giants before inking a one-year contract ahead of mandatory minicamp with the Steelers. The deal is worth $13.65 million and $10 million guaranteed, but he has incentives in the deal that could take it up to $19.5 million.

Last season, Aaron Rodgers threw for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with the Jets. He’s hoping to obliterate those numbers with the Steelers.

They’re not pretending this is a longtime partnership, but the quarterback has his marching orders and his leader in Mike Tomlin. Now, all that’s left to do is win. We’ll see if they can get it done.