Bill Cowher Timeline on NFL Network

Cowher fit the city of Pittsburgh perfectly. Mainly because he was a Pittsburgher himself. I was at training camp in 1997, I was 12 years old. At the end of practice, all the kids wanted players autographs, and the throng was huge, so I walked right down to Coach Cowher, no one was wanting his autograph, so I asked him Coach Cowher I can I have you sign my hat. He said sure, bud, don't you want a players autograph. I said no I want the boss's autograph. He said boy I like you kid, you know better than some of these players who's in charge, and he chuckled. Super Nice Guy.

I still have my hat to this day. Only down side was Breden Stai signed it too. That kind of blemished my hat. LOL.
Well, he wasn't a terrible guard, but he wasn't a Faneca or even a DeCastro.

 

Somebody already said it, but I miss that passion on the sideline as a head coach. I forgot how fired up he could get and how he fired up the players. He embodied what Pittsburgh sports are all about. I didn’t realize he re-married. Glad to see he his happy after the tradegy of his wife’s death. You can tell how close he is with his daughters and what family means. Great all around person on and off the field.

 

Yea that is a good argument. Imagine that team had a top tier qback... But looking at it from another angle cower never drafted a top tier qback until ben and the rumor was they made him take ben, he did not ever want to draft qback in first rd.

 

1990's were a different era in the draft. You rarely saw late picks turn into stars. Kurt Warner in 1999 ushered in the nobody, out of nowhere star at the QB position.

Who were the QBs available in the late 1st in the 90s that the Steelers could have gotten? That would be good research.

If Cowher deliberately said, I don't need a QB, then I'd say yes, that's on him. But that's tough to say considering Cowher was a pretty level headed guy.

 

I remember many Steelers fans being pissed when we took Plaxico Burress over Chad Pennington in the '00 draft.

 

I was one. Turned our to be the right call.

 

Yeah, Burress ended up to be a better WR than Peter Warrick who was taken by the Bungs.

 

Good Gad I miss the Chin. When he finally got a franchise QB it all came together. BTW, the rumor is he liked Rivers for that 1st pick but "they" decided & he ultimately gave Ben THE call.

I don't think there's a team in the league that wouldn't love to have Cowher lead them. Every coaching vacancy their fan base ask Cowher? Amazing how things turn o'er the years. Can't wait to see it.

 

Yeah he like Rivers... cause he went to the same college as him...

Ben was the only choice in the end, and thank god it was the right one!

 

Cowher (and me ) wanted Brian Urlacher, which was the right call.

 

Not sure I can watch it and not cry. Cowher was my coach, I got into football during the end of the Noll era, and I really came of age in appreciating the game when Bill was hired in 92 the year I graduated high school. He epitomized everything that was Steeler football to me. One of my parents class mates who has known me since the day I was born picked me up at the Pittsburgh airport during the summer of 06 and as we drove up towards Clarion and my folks hometown of Marienville we stopped at one of the hundreds of little mom and pop diners along the way and they had a camp report playing in the background and during lunch he said Cowher was a bad coach. I can still remember wanting to argue because this was my guy, this was the coach who made Steeler football. SO the rest of the drive I thought about the discussion we had and his points were valid Bill Cowher was not a great teacher, he wasn't a guy that could take raw talent and turn it into an all pro but he was great at finding guys that played the way he wanted them to play, he could plug in linemen after linemen and power run you to death. He could find those guys that would flourish in a 3-4 and could inspire them to play beyond themselves. I was heartbroken when he walked away but it was time. I still miss that fire and spirit he brought on Sundays.

 

How can any Steeler fan not love the guy as both a coach and a family man. Most coaches with his amount of passion burn out but I think he managed a good balance of coaching and family.

I miss that style of football , strong defense,power running game, the odd trick play at the best times. Watched the show the other night loved it seems like such a truly grounded guy.

I miss him on the sidelines but in someways glad he got out before it ate him up. Cowher is one of the talking heads I listen to and respect what he says .

Glad he reconnected and found a woman after his wife passed at such a young age.

 

Yea his passion was great... Please give me a break..... he went way to conservative to many x in playoffs. ofcourse we all know about the chargers in 94 but how bout the game against kc in 93 when he decided to run the ball 3x and punt ball back the greatest qback that ever lived with to much time left on clock. 12 point favorites against colts in 95 and barely won that game. 14 pt favorites against pats in 2001 and lose. I do not get the cower love, sorry. He looks like a bottom feeder with that chin.....

 

Roethlisberger fits Pittsburgh's style much better than Rivers. I feel bad for Rivers, because he's probably the most underrated QB in the league. Poor guy's skill players always seem to go on IR after Tomlinson left.

Urlacher would have been a beast for the Steelers, but we had Holmes and Kirkland at the time... who were good ILBs.

We needed Burress badly... because we reached for Edwards the year before and Ward had yet to show much. Courtney Hawkins was the #1 WR in '99... and he was #3 at best.

 

If you don't get it no amount of explaining will help you get it. Simple as if he was your guy you knew it if he wasn't then he wasn't.

 

Got even more respect for Cowher after watching his football life. Didn't realize he was such a good family man, and how he balanced his family life with his coaching career.

 

Urlacher wasn't limited to any particular position, that's why Cowher (and me ) wanted him.

 

Steelers could have drafted Jevon Kearse the year before instead of Troy Edwards.

 

I knew that part, but mostly because I was covering local sports at the time. I saw his eldest daughter play high school basketball a few times and he was always there. I also used to see the family at a local ice cream shop once in a while.

If I remember correctly, Meagan Cowher was at Princeton and the younger daughters were still playing high school ball when he retired and he talked about wanting more flexibility to go see them all play.

I didn't realize he was remarried, either. Seems like an interesting mix.

 

Cowher was a good coach, but if he hadn't coached like his mentor Marty Schottenheimer in his early playoff years, he could have won another Super Bowl or two. I enjoyed his tenacity and passion for the game. And his balance between coaching and family life should be an example for coaches at any level.

 

Agree with this. Cowher was way too conservative in the early years, but he won a lot of playoff games. Realistically, the best chances were '97... had they beaten the Broncos in the AFCCG. Steelers could have beaten Packers even with Kordell at QB. And again... in '04 Ben's rookie year... had they beaten the Patriots which was a long shot with Ben hitting the rookie wall. I believe the Steelers had enough to beat the Eagles. '01 and '94... pretty much damn near impossible vs. Rams and 49ers in Super Bowl. Patriots had the style of D in '01 to stop Warner, Faulk, Holt, etc... Steelers did not. Nobody was stopping the 49ers in 94.

 

My favorite thing about the Chin was his 101-1-1 record when the Steelers had at least 11 point lead in the game.

Not sure if it still be as good as in today's NFL where no lead is safe.

But, that is one impressive stat.

 

I agree Super Bowls XXX against Dallas and 32 should have been winnable.

 

I met Cowher at the Pittsburgh Airport when I got his autograph. He looked at me, gave me the chin and said "Make it Quick!" then laughed it off and started joking around with us. Was a very nice and personable guy.

 

Wow, that's very impressive.