As the sun set on the prairies of northern New Jersey, the green waves flooded into Metlife Stadium for the closing chapter of another crash-and-burn season from the New York Jets. With their ninth straight season below .500, the Jets organization has been missing on their coaching and player decisions that have led to these disaster seasons over and over again. Before this final game, management and ownership had announced their search for another head coach to lead another rebuild. With the firing of then-head coach, Robert Saleh, before week six, the Jets cycled through their staff for interim coaches. The search for a new coach will likely lead to the demise of a historic career for future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, who has spent his last two years with the program looking to create a dynasty in New York. The 2011 Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) and champion could be hanging the pads up this offseason.
Going from coastline to coastline, Aaron Rodgers finished up his collegiate career at the University of California-Berkeley (Cal), where he led the Golden Bears to a 19-7 record over his two-year tenure and finished ninth in the Heisman voting in 2004, per Pro Football Reference. The projected top-ten pick breezed through the NFL Combine and patiently waited to go on stage for the 2005 NFL Draft. As the night started, Aaron’s excitement turned into rage as teams were picking and his phone was not ringing. Sliding all the way to the twenty-fourth pick in the first round, Rodgers was passed up by many, including his hometown favorite, the San Francisco 49ers. Taking this personally, the young star responded about his disappointment in the pick, “Not as disappointed as the 49ers will be that they didn’t draft me,”. The stunning comment unraveled his true self for the world, as he sat second-fiddle to star quarterback Brett Farve, who the Packers were hoping would pass wisdom down to young Rodgers. The Packers believed in Aaron and they looked to him to be the leader within the “Frozen Tundra”.
After three years in the passenger’s seat, Aaron would receive the starting job for the Pack and broke through in his second season to take his squad to the divisional round with an 11-5 record. As the management built a team around him, Aaron would take the cheeseheads to their first super bowl appearance in thirteen years. The 2011 Super Bowl XLV was one for the ages as Rodgers would pass for 304 yards and three touchdowns to beat the Steelers 31-25. With this performance, he would take home the Super Bowl MVP Trophy along with Lombardi. Following this, Aaron became a postseason favorite as he led many Packers teams deep into January, with many controversial calls keeping them from another championship. Over his career with Green Bay, Rodgers took home four MVP titles and climbed the ranks of passing records with names like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. With all of this success, how can anyone learn to hate the guy?
Aaron’s attitude was his true handicap holding him back from absolute utter stardom, as his recent life outside of football has been stacking controversies week-after-week. Starting in 2016, Aaron’s brother, Jordan Rodgers, won the year’s season of “The Bachelorette”, which brought national attention to the rest of Aaron’s family. With this insight, the family revealed Aaron’s distance from his family as he cut himself off after his stardom. Five years later, Aaron would voice his opinions on Covid-19 and his vaccination. First stating, “I’ve been immunized”, per USA Today, he would later catch the virus and then admit his lie about being vaccinated. After many speeches and statements against getting the COVID-19 vaccine, the NFL would fine him and he would lose a State Farm partnership and many health-related sponsors who supported him. With his shunning from national media, he would become great friends with then-presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was also against vaccinations. Even though many rumors predicted it, Aaron would eventually turn down RFK’s offer to run as his vice president, per USA Today. A short time after, Aaron Rodgers would comment on the recently released controversial flight logs and singled out Late Night host, Jimmy Kimmel, who threw a multitude of jokes at Rodgers for his anti-vaccination views. Kimmel would eventually threaten legal action but fizzled out as the year continued. Since then, Aaron has been a regular on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN, who voices his daring opinions on many topics around the world. Along with his controversial views, Rodgers has dealt with substance abuse issues and insane medicinal and mindful “retreats” that have created more harm than good. The most notable of these is his three-day venture into the “SkyCave”, a pitch-black cave in Oregon, per Sky Cave Retreats. All of these factors have led to Rodgers’ sudden departure to the New York Jets in 2023, to reunite with his old Offensive Coordinator, Nate Hackett. This trade led to Aaron’s takeover of the organization, as he knew his word would influence management and players alike.
As Rodgers entered the 2023 NFL Season, the hype and buildup around the Big Apple was booming, but an opening drive Achilles injury would put him out of the starting job before the first game was even called. As the following 2024 season rolled around, his influence in the off-season saw him receiving former teammate and all-pro receiver, Devante Adams, to help lead the offense with Rodgers’ big arm. As the season progressed, Rodgers called for coach firings and new pickups but went into week eighteen with a 4-12 record. As word spread about the organization cleaning house, he knew he needed to put on a show. To add to this, Rodgers told reporters, “I’ll just be enjoying this, I’m trying to stay in the moment. It’s been a long career. I’m really proud of what I’ve been able to be a part of, and what I’ve been able to accomplish”, per CBS Sports. Last week, lightning up the Miami Dolphins secondary, Aaron had thrown his 500th career touchdown, which makes him the fifth player in NFL history to do so.
As the offseason begins for the bottom eighteen teams, Aaron Rodgers will be the focal point. His twenty-season career is one of the greatest resumes a player could make, but the forty-one-year-old hurt his legacy with his off-the-field acts. His attitude is looked down upon among many organizations, and his play is not making up for it as he ages even more. Will the Jet fight for another season? Or will Rodgers depart with no destination and retire?
