The 49ers' front office is probably still kicking themselves in regret 11 years later for not drafting Aaron Rodgers when they had the chance. And they should be.
They had the No. 1 overall pick in 2005, and the Niners needed a future star QB to lead the franchise back to the glory days of Joe Montana and Steve Young that had long passed since the mid-90s. It was a weird toss-up as they pondered whether they should select Rodgers out of Bay Area-based University of California-Berkeley or Alex Smith out of Utah. Most would think it would be a no-brainer based on the additional fact that Rodgers hails from Chico, Calif. So you would think they would want a hometown hero to market the franchise and for their fan base to get behind.
But nope.
Rodgers revealed how petty the organization was when it came to scouting the two college star quarterbacks on a recent Any Given Wednesday interview. It wasn't about who has the higher IQ on the field, passing accuracy, nor anything in regards to their overall talent. Rather, it was Smith's sense of chivalry and well-taught mama's boy manners. Rodgers states in the clip below that former 49ers coach was moistened by Smith after he witnessed him open a car door for his mother.
Did he just...really?! Let's review what he said again here: "The story that I heard, and I don't know if it's true or not, was that Mike Nolan said that when he saw Alex open the car door for his mom, he knew that was the quarterback he wanted."
Wow. To qualify that rumor, Rodgers followed up with how his workout and meeting with the team turned out in comparison to Smith, and never got to woo Nolan on an act of chivalry in the same way. "I was at lunch with [the 49ers]," Rodgers said. "My mom wasn't there. My dad wasn't there." He added, "I just laugh at stories like that because it has nothing to do with being a quarterback," Rodgers said of Nolan's "evaluation."
Are we talking about football here? Absolutely not. Rodgers was selected No. 24 in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers. Since then, Nolan's record in San Francisco was 18-37, and he was fired in mid-season in 2008. Smith lost his starting quarterback spot to Colin Kaepernick in 2011, and was traded to the Chiefs in 2013 for a second-round pick in that year's NFL Draft. As for Rodgers, he won the 2014 NFL MVP award, and has a Super Bowl ring. Look who's laughing now.
