Aaron Rodgers didn’t mince words when he responded to a reporter’s question about the impact of Sunday’s win over the Ravens.
The Steelers had dropped two straight games going into Sunday and questions about Mike Tomlin’s job security swirled, leading to Rodgers being asked about the meaning of the win amid the chatter around the longtime head coach.
“It means maybe you guys will shut the hell up for a week,” Rodgers said matter-of-factly.
Talk around Tomlin even led to a former Steelers great, Ben Roethlisberger, to suggest “maybe it’s time” for him to move on.
“It’s being talked about around here a lot: Maybe it’s a clean-house time. Maybe it’s time,” Roethlisberger said on his podcast. “I like Coach Tomlin. I have a lot of respect for Coach Tomlin. But maybe it’s best for him, too. Maybe a fresh start for him is what’s best. Whether that’s in the pros, maybe go be Penn State’s head coach. You know what he would do in Penn State? He would probably go win national championships. Because he’s a great recruiter.”
But the win on Sunday likely quiets the talk down, as Rodgers suggested, now that the Steelers have taken control of first place in the AFC North.
Tomlin called the victory an “awesome team win.”
Players downplayed the chatter around the team, with linebacker Patrick Queen suggesting that the team had been ignoring it.
“Media is gonna do stuff like that,” Queen said, per Sportsnet Pittsburgh. “Any guy in the building can care less. It’s a brotherhood, it’s a family. We got each other’s back. All we care about is in the building.”
The Steelers moved to 7-6 and Tomlin inched closer to securing another season at the helm with a winning record, which has been a staple of the coach’s during his time in Pittsburgh.
