The Green Bay Packers have fallen well short of expectations offensively through the first four games of the year, and Aaron Rodgers openly questioned some of the play-calling after last week’s win over the Buffalo Bills. Are his early-season frustrations indicative of a much bigger issue?
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported on Sunday that Rodgers is still concerned over some of the staff changes head coach Mike McCarthy made during the offseason, namely firing quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt without consulting Rodgers. The two-time NFL MVP has also been disappointed in Green Bay’s personnel with his good friend Jordy Nelson gone and no running back having seized contract of the backfield.
Taking things a step further, La Canfora was told there are people who have regular contact with both Rodgers and McCarthy that wonder if the relationship between the quarterback and head coach will continue beyond 2018. Packers president Mark Murphy has a strong relationship with Rodgers and wants to get the most out of the remaining prime years of the 34-year-old’s career, so there are some questions about whether Rodgers will want a new coach.
Rodgers called the Packers “terrible on offense” last weekend and said there’s no excuse for them not getting the ball to No. 1 wideout Davante Adams more. It seemed like he was criticizing the team’s play-calling, but he later claimed he was saying he personally needs to look Adams’ way more.
There were reports throughout the winter that Rodgers was unhappy with the way things were going in Green Bay, though at one point he downplayed them with a sarcastic tweet. He’s obviously going to be with the Packers for the long haul now, but that doesn’t mean the same will be true for McCarthy if things go south in the short-term.
