Bill Cowher would give full autonomy to Aaron Rodgers with Pittsburgh Steelers

Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher would hand the keys to Aaron Rodgers, no questions asked. With where Rodgers is in his career, potentially his final season, Cowher would want to let Rodgers have full autonomy.

He was asked by Dan Patrick if he would do so, if he were the coach these days. Heck, Cowher’s won a Super Bowl so he has to know what he’s talking about!

His argument was Rodgers isn’t in his prime but still has the intelligence factor. If the Steelers are truly built the right way, Rodgers is the missing piece.

“Absolutely,” Cowher said on The Dan Patrick Show. “I don’t think there’s any question about it. And I think Aaron’s at a point where he knows you don’t want him to be throwing the ball 40 times a game at this point. You want Aaron Rodgers to be healthy going into the playoffs…you can turn the ball over to him at the end of a half, at the end of a game and know he’s been there before and I think he will operate that very, very efficiently.”

Efficiency will be the key. Rodgers was brought in to give Pittsburgh a shot to make a run in the playoffs. It’s been awhile since the Steelers actually advanced in the postseason.

“Eight years, no playoff wins,” Cowher said. “There is a degree of urgency in that building, no question about it…I think the biggest thing right now is going out there and try to bring this whole thing together. A lot of change in terms of the faces of this team. That doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. Communication has to take place.”

As far as the weapons are concerned, Rodgers can rely on some quality pieces. He has tight end Pat Freiermuth and recently acquired wide receiver DK Metcalf. 

Freiermuth had a solid season for the Steelers in 2024. In 17 games with 11 starts, Freiermuth caught 65 passes for 653 yards and seven touchdowns.

Earlier this month Freiermuth shared his thoughts on Aaron Rodgers joining the Steelers. He even compared Rodgers to Ben Roethlisberger, a Steelers legend. 

“I think he’s similar to Ben [Roethlisberger] in a way where like he’s gonna trust you to where you’re gonna be, and he’s gonna throw you open,” Freiermuth said on the latest episode of Not Just Football with Cam Heyward. “Aaron, I can see on film where he’s expecting you to be somewhere, and if he trusts you, he’s gonna throw it to that spot and go let you make a play. I think that is what I’ve noticed a lot on film.”