VIDEO: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers on Why Cowboys Jerry Is 'Infatuated' With Coach McCarthy
FRISCO - Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are of course focused on this weekend's NFL playoff matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. (Get filled in on that here.) But the Dallas Cowboys' hiring of former Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy certainly caught Rodgers' eye.
And Rodgers even has some reasoning for the hire of his boss of 13 years.
"We've had a lot of success down there, and I think that was probably one of the reasons," said Rodgers, who engineered a Super Bowl win at AT&T Stadium over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011 and a 7-3 overall record vs. Dallas. "We obviously won the Super Bowl there, but we won some big games down there over the years. So I'm not surprised that Jerry (Jones) had an infatuation with Mike, because we've had some really good performances.''
Rodgers said he exchanged congratulatory text messages with McCarthy earlier this week, which adds credence to the two parties' claims that despite their occasional clashes in Green Bay, a mutual respect is in place.
The All-Pro QB added that he thought McCarthy might end up elsewhere for a reason directly related to the reputation of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
"I thought maybe he would go somewhere where he had maybe some GM opportunity as well,'' Rodgers said, "but I'm happy for him.''
What Rodgers does not yet know: One of the reasons McCarthy is happy about the opportunity is that as Jones embraces "change,'' the new coach does indeed have authority, soon to be evidenced in roster-building (along with Jerry and Stephen Jones and Will McClay) and already in staff-building.
“I have the absolute final decision on my coaching staff,” McCarthy said late this week, also mentioning that he and the Joneses will be making "we decisions'' in Dallas.
