Couch: Aaron Rodgers Talks A Good Game, But He's Not Going Anywhere
Aaron Rodgers has learned well from Jake from State Farm. He now sounds like an insurance salesman, too. Rodgers has been holding his breath and throwing a temper tantrum at the same time, ever since the NFC Championship Game, when he didn’t get to go for it on fourth and goal.
He also has spent the offseason being the host on Jeopardy!, finalizing his wedding plans and dancing and playing his guitar in Hawaii. Good for him. He’s having fun. But also, he really, really wants everyone to know it, particularly Green Bay Packers management. It’s clear that part of Rodgers’ fun is watching his bosses squirm, the way they made him squirm when they picked quarterback Jordan Love in the draft last year without getting Rodgers’ permission first.
So he has selectively leaked to his friends in the media how unhappy he is with the Packers, and how he doesn’t want to come back. He has made management come to him, fly out and kiss his ring, say publicly how they had wronged Rodgers with faulty communication and begged him to come back. Meanwhile, Rodgers has never had to messy-up his hands by telling fans what on earth he even wants.
On Monday, he went on ESPN’s SportsCenter for an interview with his friend, Kenny Mayne, who was doing his final broadcast. Mayne asked if it was true that Rodgers hadn’t shown up for the Packers’ volunteer workouts. Yes, it was.
So what is the problem, anyway? And this is when Rodgers went into full insurance-salesman mode:
“It’s just kind of about a philosophy and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make things go,’’ Rodgers said. “It’s about character; it’s about culture; it’s about doing things the right way. A lot of this was put in motion last year, and the wrench was just kind of thrown into it when I won MVP and played the way I played last year. This is just kind of, I think, a spill-out of all that.’’
Interpretation: Rodgers thinks the Packers were planning to dump him in favor of Love after this past season, but instead Rodgers played too well for management to get away with that.
That, by the way, is clearly not true. But let’s move on with other things Rodgers told Mayne:
“I think sometimes people forget what really makes an organization. History is important -- legacy of so many people who’ve come before you. But the people, that’s the most important thing. People make an organization; people make a business. And sometimes, that gets forgotten.’’
What people is Rodgers talking about? Himself.
Rodgers’ lips were moving and good-sounding words were coming out. But they didn’t mean anything.
“Culture is built brick by brick, the foundation of it by the people -- not by the organization, not by the building, not by the corporation. It’s built by the people,’’ he said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play with a number of amazing, amazing people and got to work for some amazing people as well. It’s those people that build foundation of those entities. I think sometimes we forget that.
“With my situation, look, it’s never been about the draft pick, picking Jordan. I love Jordan; he’s a great kid. (It has been) a lot of fun to work together. Love the coaching staff, love my teammates, love the fan base in Green Bay. An incredible 16 years.’’
That all sounds so good. But what does any of it even mean? He went on to mention a number of beloved figures in Packers history, but never did mention his general manager, Brian Gutekunst, so that part of the message was clear.
No, Rodgers is selling something here. He just doesn’t want to tell you what he’s selling. Or what he even wants. He neatly dodged Mayne’s question about whether he wants to be traded.
He wants the Packers to squirm, that’s what. That seems to be the goal here.
But part of the problem is that Rodgers thinks he’s the Michael Jordan of the NFL. Really, he’s more like the Clyde Drexler.
Rodgers has said before what a fan he was of Jordan, and how addicted he was to watching ESPN’s “The Last Dance’’ last year about Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty.
Bulls general manager Jerry Krause blew it years ago when he talked about organizations winning championships, not people. Jordan spent the rest of his career mocking Krause for that. Everyone knew that Jordan was winning championships, not Krause.
So I guess Rodgers is saying that Gutekunst is taking too much credit? The problem is that Green Bay was Titletown before Rodgers came. The Bulls had never won a thing before Jordan.
Jordan could just laugh at Krause and make fun of him. Gutekunst hasn’t actually said anything to take away from Rodgers’ legacy, which includes a grand total of one Super Bowl.
Still, it takes a certain level of paranoia to think that Jordan Love, who never even suited up for a game last season, was an immediate threat to Rodgers.
My guess is Rodgers has already decided to return. He just wants to have a little more fun first.