Familiarity with the offensive scheme could prove to be one of the biggest advantages for the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers entering the 2026 season. But a few unexpected twists in the playbook might change everything.

Reunited with Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy after a decade together in Green Bay, Rodgers shared how McCarthy has modified his system for Pittsburgh.

"He’s changed some stuff when he was in Dallas…It’s stuff that we used to run, but he’s just called it something different now," Rodgers said, per Chris Adamski of TribLive.com. "It’s just the next generations of the West Coast offense. It went kind of Bill Walsh to kind of what Mike was doing with Paul Hackett, and then it’s kind of grown from there."

Rodgers traced McCarthy's offensive scheme back to former San Francisco 49ers HC Bill Walsh's original West Coast offensive system, which focused on short, precise passes and quick decision-making.

The same system was later implemented and refined by former OC and QB coach Paul Hackett, who learned from Walsh during his tenure with the Niners, before reaching McCarthy.

But McCarthy made some tweaks in the system after his stint with the Dallas Cowboys from 2020 to 2024. Still, after all these changes, Rodgers revealed one thing that remains constant.

“From a real fundamental level, it’s all about the quarterback’s timing,” Rodgers said, per Chris Adamski of TribLive.com.

Last year, Rodgers completed 327 of 498 passes for 3,322 yards and recorded 24 touchdowns, his 21st season in the league and first with the Steelers.

While the West Coast offense originally was just about throwing a check-down pass, McCarthy has turned it into a "vertical attack," helping in the run game, according to Jobe Morrison of Athlon Sports.

McCarthy and Rodgers reached the playoffs eight times together during their stint with the Packers. They had their last NFC Championship game appearance in the 2016 season before reuniting with the Steelers.

With Rodgers already comfortable in McCarthy's scheme, the Steelers expect the partnership to transition into postseason success and develop the offense that lacked consistency in 2025.

Pittsburgh is looking for an offensive reset with Mike McCarthy

The Steelers hired Mike McCarthy primarily due to his proven record of developing elite QBs and his ability to turn the team into a Super Bowl contender.

McCarthy's scheme goes back to the roots, with few changes to his offensive system, which caters to building around the signal-caller's strengths.

“You have core beliefs, which established during those early years, and then off of those come variations,” McCarthy said, per Chris Adamski of TribLive.com in the same article. “You look at pro football, (there are) a lot of similar plays, a lot of similar schemes, but everybody runs them a little differently.”

The Steelers struggled offensively, ranking No. 25 (305.6 average yards) in total yards last season, while ranking 22nd in passing yards (202.4 average passing yards)

After a disappointing 2025 campaign on the offense, the Steelers are relying on McCarthy's long-tested West Coast offense system and Rodgers' proven familiarity with it to lead the team to the playoffs.

Will the reunion between Rodgers and McCarthy be enough to push the Steelers back into deep postseason success? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore