A breaking point had to exist. An event, a fight, a setback—a turning point that ended Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy’s football marriage.
Long before that unbelievable December 20–17 defeat to the lowly Cardinals, the game that ultimately led to McCarthy’s firing, everyone could see the Packers quarterback and head coach were going toward divorce. By then Rodgers had been giving off death looks and showing defiance for years.
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B/R: The Events in Green Bay
April 4, 2019 – Tyler Dunne
A breaking point had to exist. An event, a fight, a setback—a turning point that ended Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy’s football marriage.
Long before that unbelievable December 20–17 defeat to the lowly Cardinals, the game that ultimately led to McCarthy’s firing, everyone could see the Packers quarterback and head coach were going toward divorce. Rodgers’s defiance and death glances had been a regular sight for years by that point.
However, how far back can you go to discover the start of the end?
Was Rodgers yelling at his coach, “Stupid fucking call!” in Week 3 of the 2017 season?
If you go even farther back, the NFC Championship Game
Those who have been a part of this relationship from the start advise you to persevere.
Rewind to the initial phase of love. even though Rodgers was named league MVP and the Packers were 15-1 in 2011. Even though Rodgers was named Super Bowl MVP in the 2010 season, when they won their final Super Bowl championship. Rodgers was already furious with his coach at that point.
The worst-kept secret at 1265 Lombardi Avenue was that Rodgers seemed to loathe his coach from the moment McCarthy was hired.
Nobody holds a grudge in any sport like Rodgers. When it comes to Rodgers, grudges do not merrily float away. They stick. They grow. They refuel.
No, Rodgers would not forget that McCarthy had helped perpetuate his four-and-a-half-hour wait in the NFL draft green room the year prior. His nationally televised embarrassment. McCarthy, then the 49ers offensive coordinator, chose Alex Smith No. 1 overall. Not Rodgers.
No, Rodgers would not take it as a funny accident.
No, Rodgers wouldn’t consider it a humorous mishap.
Ryan Grant was the main running back for the Packers from 2007 to 2012. “Aaron’s always had a chip on his shoulder with Mike,” Grant says. “The individual who eventually became your coach turned him down when he had the opportunity. Aaron was disappointed that Mike didn’t pick him, stating outright that Alex Smith was a superior quarterback.
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