The Cincinnati Bengals are watching the rest of the AFC North figure things out. The Baltimore Ravens recently hired former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter as their next head coach, and the Pittsburgh Steelers followed by hiring former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy to take over as their next coach.
McCarthy interviewed with the Steelers earlier in the week, but the favorite to land the gig was Los Angeles Rams DC Chris Shula. Despite being a Pittsburgh native, McCarthy actually landing his third NFL head-coaching job was a surprising development out of the City of Bridges.
It also keeps the door open for the Steelers to keep the same quarterback as last year, leading to two more matchups against Cincinnati.
Bengals could very well face Aaron Rodgers again in 2026
McCarthy’s hiring indicates Pittsburgh is not intending on entering a rebuild. The Rooney family wants to win now, and hiring a 62-year old HC with a career winning percentage of 60.8%, and a Super Bowl victory (at their expense) reflects that thinking entirely.
That alone makes the return of QB Aaron Rodgers a strong possibility. Add on that McCarthy was Rodgers’ coach for 13 years, and you’ve got an extremely likely scenario set to unfold.
Rodgers joined the Steelers because of Mike Tomlin, and when Tomlin stepped down earlier this month, the future of Rodgers’ playing career seemed to be anywhere but Pittsburgh. The hiring of his former coach has a chance to flip the script.
There was belief in the building that hiring Mike McCarthy could bring Aaron Rodgers back in the fold. Now we’ll see what the QB does. https://t.co/7Y5kBrJKV0
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) January 24, 2026
The Bengals are 2-3 all-time against McCarthy, including their Week 2 loss in 2022 when he was coaching Dallas at the time. They’re 2-2 against McCarthy when he had Rodgers as his QB.
Rodgers, who turned 42 in December, managed to win 10 games as Pittsburgh’s starting QB, throwing for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions. The Steelers won the AFC North, but fell flat in their lone playoff appearance, losing 30-6 to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round. Rodgers threw for just 146 yards, and his last throw of the game was a pick-six.
One of those 10 wins came against Cincy in Week 11, but the Bengals got the best of him on “Thursday Night Football” in their thrilling 33-31 victory in Week 7.
Rodgers joining the Steelers wasn’t confirmed until last June, well into the 2025 offseason. His potential return could take an equal amount of time, but his former coach being hired by the team he just played for makes his return very plausible, and would give Cincinnati some familiarity when forecasting an otherwise unpredictable AFC North landscape next season.
