U mad, bro?: Steelers fans revolt over Aaron Rodgers coverage; take turns defending and ripping Mike Tomlin

The Pittsburgh Steelers have returned to practice. The weather somehow feels like fall in May. And readers are flooding my mentions and my inbox with Steelers-related outrage.

The 2025 season must be closer than I thought!

Here’s this week’s “U mad, bro?”

Let’s start with a message I got from “Chuck.” He makes a point about Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin would be a perfect fit. Both are living off a Super Bowl win from a decade-and-a-half ago. @MarkMaddenX @TimBenzPGH

— Chuck Curti (@ChuckCurtiTRIB) May 28, 2025

That’s when “Wayne” jumped in to defend Tomlin by saying — stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “Don’t you yinz know he’s never had a losing season, n’at?!”

Never a losing season says it all when you consistently draft near the end of the draft. Main reason knowledgeable experts say he constantly overachieves. Too many get caught up in biased opinions and not facts.

— Wayne Moody (@WaymooMoody) May 28, 2025

• Eight straight years, no playoff wins.

• No playoff wins in 12 of the past 14 seasons.

• Longest stretch of time for the franchise without a playoff victory since the Immaculate Reception.

• Had Ben Roethlisberger for 14 healthy seasons. Failed to win a playoff game in 10 of them.

Do any of those facts count, Wayne?

”Mikey P” sent a message via social media about the Steelers’ QB situation.

“May be an unpopular opinion, but I’m not really impressed by the 2026 QB Draft, at least not one you could build a franchise around, so I’m not really sure what the Steelers plan/move is.”

Psst! Mikey! Here’s a little secret … they have no idea either.

Let’s read an email from a guy named, uh, oh … “Robert.” If you read last week’s “U mad, bro,” you know that means trouble.

This “Robert” takes umbrage with the fact that I included Mike Williams among a list of receivers who I felt were disappointing last year.

“I would take issue with your assessment of Mike Williams’ lack of production.’ When he was in the games he was very productive. The problem was that dumb (coaches) like Tomlin and (Arthur) Smith didn’t get him nearly enough targets! He was never in the (deleted) games! They NEVER gave him enough opportunities to prove himself. They put out those other secondary receivers that proved themselves as failures, yet Tomlin and Smith kept sending them out on the offense. Typical Tomlin and Smith…When they did target him did he not make spectacular catches?”

How often did he get himself open, Robert? Don’t you think that’s perhaps why he didn’t get more playing time and targets? Look, I thought they could’ve used him more as well. But when they played him, he didn’t create separation like he did with the Chargers.

He had that one great touchdown to beat Washington. Aside from that, he only totaled eight other catches on 12 targets in his eight other games. Four of those catches didn’t even yield a first down. I’m not sure how many of the remaining four were “spectacular,” but I think you remember the guy who played in Los Angeles more than the guy the Steelers got from New York.

Here’s an email from a reader who was responding to my “First Call” post about Terry Bradshaw ripping the Steelers’ pursuit of Aaron Rodgers. It’s from … who?

What?! Can it really be? Another, Robert!

“I guess you omitted the entire opinion that Bradshaw had about Kenny Pickett? I know the media in Pittsburgh and the national media wanted to continue to say how horrible he was. However, a four time Super Bowl winner, saying what he said has to carry just a fraction of truth. Maybe he saw something that so many smart people in the media don’t see. And the one thing he forgot to mention was how horrible of an offensive coordinator he was stuck with. Once again, I’m not gonna say Kenny Pickett was going to be Dan Marino, but they never put him in a chance to succeed and that’s why that Steeler organization has turned to garbage. They should’ve put him with the right quarterback, coach, and the right offensive coordinator not to mention that things Terry Bradshaw, a four-time Super Bowl winner had to say about him.”

I didn’t mention Pickett because the clip of the conversation that I saw on the internet wasn’t about him. It was only about Rodgers. It didn’t include the discussion about Pickett.

Unlike you, I’m not obsessed with Kenny Pickett. If you keep stomping your feet over a hypothetical that can’t be proven wrong, then I guess you are always going to be right. That’s a very comfortable place to live.

But the honest truth is, I just didn’t see/hear that part of the conversation until after the story was posted.

Sorry to disappoint you, but it’s hard to intentionally feed a media conspiracy when you don’t even know you are part of one.

This guy wants to comment on Mike Tomlin’s affinity for Aaron Rodgers.

Tomlin still remembers Aaron Rodgers spreading him out four and five wide and surgically distributing passes and winning the Super Bowl. A long long time ago.

— Mocephus ???????? (@theMocephus) May 28, 2025

I’m gonna guess Tomlin remembers something else from that game too.

Rashard Mendenhall https://t.co/Wm782OzE8Q pic.twitter.com/OIgO3K7ALD

— ????BigDave???? (@BigDaveFootball) April 1, 2024

Finally, someone whose email handle is “wxman21b” doesn’t want me writing about Aaron Rodgers anymore.

“Have you digressed so much that you can’t think of ANYTHING ELSE BUT ROGERS to write about? We are sick of it Dude! WHO CARES EXCEPT FOR YOU AND MADDEN? NOBODY!”

“Dude,” Rodgers is about to become the quarterback of the Steelers. Or maybe he isn’t. That’s an important job. Everybody cares about who the Steelers’ QB is.

You just don’t like Rodgers, or you don’t like how this makes the Steelers look. One or the other. Or both.

But stop saying you “don’t care” when what you mean is that you are tired of hearing about him failing to make up his mind. There’s a difference.

Sure, blame him for dragging this out. Blame the Steelers for letting him do it. But don’t blame me for covering it or our readers for wanting updates on the situation.

But I (*clears throat*) digress.

I’m glad I could help put your own thoughts in order.

LISTEN: Chris Adamski joins me on 105.9 The X for our weekly offseason chat as OTAs begin for the Steelers.