Rodgers: McCarthy extension good for Packers' future

A day after Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy received a contract extension, quarterback Aaron Rodgers grasped the big picture.

The former MVP and Super Bowl champion could start for the same coach throughout his entire career.

With the modern coaching carousel that seems to repeat on an annual cycle in the NFL, it's a rare opportunity. Rodgers played for two different coaches in his first two seasons, with McCarthy replacing former Packers coach Mike Sherman in 2006.

Since replacing Brett Favre as Green Bay's starting quarterback in 2008, McCarthy is the only coach Rodgers has had to answer to.

"It'd be something to play with the same team your entire career, and then also start for the same coach," Rodgers said Tuesday on his weekly ESPN Milwaukee radio show. "And, if Ted was able to stick around, have the same general manager. That'd be something right there. I think that would definitely speak to consistency there."

McCarthy is the NFL fourth-longest tenured coach, behind New England's Bill Belichick (2000), Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis (2003) and the New York Giants' Tom Coughlin (2004).

McCarthy's extension runs through the 2018 season, according to an NFL Network report Tuesday. It would put McCarthy on what is believed to be the same timeline as Thompson.

"It's the stability of knowing you're going to be working together that gives you a lot of confidence and makes you feel good about the future of the organization," Rodgers said.

-- rwood@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ByRyanWood