‘All I think about is getting the…’: 19 Years After Passing on Aaron Rodgers, Former Nick Saban Assistant Finally Admits His Mistake | HO

“All I think about is getting the weight to the inside of my left ankle, the inside of my left calf, and the inside of my left knee.” These words from Aaron Rodgers, shared by Jason Garrett in a recent NFL Films feature, reveal the meticulous mindset of a quarterback who’s been making NFL defenses second-guess themselves for nearly two decades. But for Garrett himself, those second guesses started long before Rodgers stepped onto an NFL field.

In a revelation that can reverberate across the football fraternity, Jason Garrett, a former NFL quarterback, has, at last, made a shocking confession regarding his involvement in one of the most notorious draft day slips in NFL history. On the latest segment of “The Official Jets Podcast” hosted by Eric Allen, Garrett let out how he was part of the team that decided to let go of the quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the 2005 NFL Draft— a decision which has tormented him for the last 19 years.

In 2005, Garrett was the Dolphins’ quarterback coach in the regime of Nick Saban. Miami held the second overall pick and they were in intense need of a franchise QB after going through a cluster of A J Feeley, Jay Fiedler, and Sage Rosenfels the previous seasons. This decision appeared to be ‘easy’ – Alex Smith or Aaron Rodgers?

Garrett stated, “I had just retired, and Aaron and Alex Smith were coming out in that draft and we had the second pick in the draft and we chose not to take Aaron Rodgers.” That appraisal turned out to be influenced by Garrett’s decision, which initiated a series of incidents the NFL would have to contend with for a long time.

In the end, however, the Dolphins shunned both quarterbacks’ calls and preferred to avert disaster by getting running back Ronnie Brown off the board instead. The most regrettable of those would be the plunge down to 24th in which Green Bay picked up Rodgers. The next thing that happened is a career that Garrett himself has characterized as “About [four] MVPs later and a Hall of Fame career.”

Aaron Rodgers’ revenge and a highlight reel of regret

He didn’t just shut the mouths of all haters, he went on to change the future of the way quarterbacks will be played. His life has been a masterclass on how to get turned down and come out throwing rockets.

Consider the 2010 season, which ended with Rodgers helping the Packers win a Super Bowl. During the process, as Garrett recalled, “I was on the other side of it a lot as a coach in Dallas and we had some great battles with them, but he always played so well and played so well in the big moments.” Those moments included a stellar performance in Super Bowl XLV, where Rodgers earned MVP honors.

As of September 2024, in terms of yardage at 59,055, he is No. 9 overall and for touchdown passes at 475, he is No. 5 overall. He leads in the career record in the TD passes to INTs at 4.52-to-1 (475-to-105), numbers that amazed Garrett. “He’s incredibly smart in his understanding of the game, but then he’s an outstanding decision-maker,” gushed Garrett.

Nothing could encapsulate just how big a footprint Rodgers has left behind than this self-striking quote from Garrett: “He just has this unique way of throwing the ball and he throws it like a tennis ball.” For 19 years, that “tennis ball” has been bouncing off the hands of receivers and the egos of those who’ve scoffed at him. As far as Jason Garrett is concerned, it has been the last two decades almost in anticipation of an excruciating ‘What could have been?’