Bill Cowher

William Laird Cowher (born May 8, 1957) is a former professional American football coach and player in the National Football League (NFL). In 2020, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, along with fellow coach-turned-TV analyst Jimmy Johnson.

Bill Cowher
No. 53, 57
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1957-05-08) May 8, 1957
Crafton, Pennsylvania
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:Carlynton
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
College:NC State
Undrafted:1979
Career history
As player:
As coach:
Career highlights and awards
Head coaching record
Regular season:149–90–1 (.623)
Postseason:12–9 (.571)
Career:161–99–1 (.619)
Coaching stats at PFR

In Cowher's 15 seasons as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team won eight division titles and made 10 playoff appearances. Cowher led the Steelers to the Super Bowl twice, winning one. He is the second coach in NFL history to reach the playoffs in each of his first six seasons as head coach, a feat previously accomplished only by Paul Brown.

Cowher retired as head coach of the Steelers on January 5, 2007, 11 months after winning Super Bowl XL in 2006 over the Seattle Seahawks. Cowher was replaced by current Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. Before being hired by the Steelers in 1992, Cowher served as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs under head coach Marty Schottenheimer. He is currently a studio analyst for The NFL Today.

Early life

Born in Crafton, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Cowher excelled in football, basketball, and track for Carlynton High. At North Carolina State University, he was a starting linebacker, team captain, and team MVP in his senior year. He graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in education.

Professional career

Cowher began his NFL career as a linebacker with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1979, but signed with the Cleveland Browns the following year. Cowher played three seasons (1980–82) in Cleveland, making him a member of the Kardiac Kids, before being traded back to the Eagles, where he played two more years (1983–84). His tenure in Philadelphia included tackling a young Jeff Fisher (who later became the head coach of the Tennessee Titans) when playing against the Chicago Bears, causing Fisher to break his leg.[1] The two would later be rival head coaches and friends in the AFC Central division, and Fisher has credited his injury at the hands of Cowher with having the unintended consequence of propelling him into coaching.

Cowher primarily played special teams during his playing career, and placed emphasis on special teams during his coaching career. Cowher credits being a "bubble player" during his playing career with influencing his coaching career, feeling that such players work the hardest for a roster spot (and sometimes still get cut, hence the term "bubble player"), and thus make better head coaches than those with successful playing careers.

Coaching career

Assistant jobs

Cowher began his coaching career in 1985 at age 28 under Marty Schottenheimer with the Cleveland Browns. He was the Browns' special teams coach in 1985–86 and secondary coach in 1987–88 before following Schottenheimer to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1989 as defensive coordinator. He was a finalist for the Cincinnati Bengals head coaching position in 1991 following the dismissal of Sam Wyche, but was passed over in favor of Dave Shula, presumably due to Bengals owner Mike Brown seeing similarities with himself and Shula in the same manner that their respective fathers (Don Shula and Paul Brown) overshadow them in many aspects.

Pittsburgh Steelers

He became the 15th head coach in Steelers history when he succeeded Chuck Noll on January 21, 1992 – but only the team's second head coach since the NFL merger in 1970, beating out fellow Pittsburgh native and Pitt alumnus (and eventual Pitt head coach) Dave Wannstedt (Wannstedt instead became the coach of the Chicago Bears the following season).[2] Under Cowher, the Steelers showed an immediate improvement from the disappointing 7–9 season the year before, going 11–5 and earning home field advantage in the AFC after the Steelers had missed the playoffs six times out of the previous seven years. In 1995, at age 38, he became the youngest coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl. Cowher is only the second coach in NFL history to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons as head coach, joining Pro Football Hall of Fame member Paul Brown.

In Cowher’s 15 seasons, the Steelers captured eight division titles, earned 10 postseason playoff berths (including six straight in his first six seasons), played in 21 playoff games, advanced to six AFC Championship games and made two Super Bowl appearances. He is one of only six coaches in NFL history to claim at least seven division titles. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, the Steelers had the best record of any team in the NFL since Cowher was hired as head coach.

On February 5, 2006, Cowher's Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XL by defeating the Seattle Seahawks 21–10, giving Cowher his first Super Bowl ring. Through the Super Bowl, Cowher's team had compiled a record of 108–1–1 in games in which they built a lead of at least 11 points.[3]

On January 5, 2007, resigned after 15 years of being the Steelers head coach. Cowher's record as a head coach was 161–99–1, including the playoffs.

On January 11, 2020, Bill Cowher was told live on CBS pregame show that he was being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of its centennial class by its president David Baker.[4]

After coaching

On February 15, 2007, he signed on to The NFL Today on CBS as a studio analyst, joining Dan Marino, Shannon Sharpe, and Boomer Esiason.

In 2007, Cowher appeared in the ABC reality television series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, featuring a dozen celebrities in a stock car racing competition. Cowher matched up against Gabrielle Reece and William Shatner.

On March 4, 2008, Cowher responded to rumors concerning his coaching future by stating, "I'm not going anywhere."[5] The rumors started after the Cowhers placed their Raleigh, North Carolina home on the market, but their intention was to build a new house two miles away.

Putting an end to numerous unfounded rumors of his return to coaching in the NFL in 2009, Cowher stated on The NFL Today that he did not plan to coach again in the immediate future.[6]

In July 2010, Cowher was the keynote speaker for National Agents Alliance at their Leadership Conference. He talked about work ethic, leadership and how that transfers into the work force. He said it's not about what you accomplish, it's about who you touch along the way.[7]

Cowher had a part in the movie The Dark Knight Rises (2012), which was filmed at Heinz Field, the home of the Steelers, in downtown Pittsburgh. He played the head coach of the Gotham Rogues.[8]

Coaching tree
Cowher challenges a play

Assistant coaches under Bill Cowher that became head coaches in the NFL:

Personal life
Cowher's North Ridge Country Club home in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Cowher's late wife, Kaye (née Young), also a North Carolina State University graduate, played professional basketball for the New York Stars of the (now defunct) Women's Pro Basketball League with her twin sister, Faye. Kaye was featured in the book Mad Seasons: The Story of the First Women's Professional Basketball League, 1978–1981, by Karra Porter (University of Nebraska Press, 2006). Kaye Cowher died of skin cancer at age 54 on July 23, 2010.[9] The couple had three daughters: Meagan, Lauren, and Lindsay. Meagan and Lauren played basketball at Princeton University. Lindsay played basketball at Wofford College before transferring to Elon University. In 2007, the Cowher family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, from the Pittsburgh suburb of Fox Chapel. Meagan married former NHL forward Kevin Westgarth in 2011.[10] Lindsay married former NBA forward Ryan Kelly of the Atlanta Hawks on August 2, 2014.[11]

Cowher married Veronica Stigeler in 2014.[12] In 2018 Cowher put his Raleigh house in North Ridge Country Club up for sale after announcing he would be moving to New York full-time.[13]

In July 2020, Cowher and his wife announced they had tested positive for COVID-19.[14]

Endorsements

Cowher was on the cover of EA Sports' 2006 video game NFL Head Coach. He appears in TV advertising for Time Warner Cable.[15] In the video game Madden NFL 19, he voiced himself in the mini-game Longshot 2: Homecoming. In the mini-game, he makes his return to coaching as the head coach of the Houston Texans.

Head coaching record
TeamYearRegular seasonPostseason
WonLostTiesWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result
PIT1992 1150.6881st in AFC Central01.000Lost to Buffalo Bills in AFC Divisional Game.
PIT1993 970.5632nd in AFC Central01.000Lost to Kansas City Chiefs in AFC Wild-Card Game.
PIT1994 1240.7501st in AFC Central11.500Lost to San Diego Chargers in AFC Championship Game.
PIT1995 1150.6881st in AFC Central21.667Lost to Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX.
PIT1996 1060.6251st in AFC Central11.500Lost to New England Patriots in AFC Divisional Game.
PIT1997 1150.6881st in AFC Central11.500Lost to Denver Broncos in AFC Championship Game.
PIT1998 790.4383rd in AFC Central––––
PIT1999 6100.3754th in AFC Central––––
PIT2000 970.5633rd in AFC Central––––
PIT2001 1330.8121st in AFC Central11.500Lost to New England Patriots in AFC Championship Game.
PIT2002 1051.6561st in AFC North11.500Lost to Tennessee Titans in AFC Divisional Game.
PIT2003 6100.3753rd in AFC North––––
PIT2004 1510.9381st in AFC North11.500Lost to New England Patriots in AFC Championship Game.
PIT2005 1150.6882nd in AFC North401.000Super Bowl XL Champions.
PIT2006 880.5003rd in AFC North––––
PIT Total149901.623129.571
Total[16]149901.623129.571
gollark: With maybe 8 modems you can cycle rapidly through channels listening for used ones then listen on those.
gollark: You don't even *need* one.
gollark: On SC there are *two* public all-channel interceptors.
gollark: Not really.
gollark: Anything else I should add?

See also

References
  1. Silver, Michael (October 7, 1996). "Making A Statement". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  2. King, Peter (January 13, 1992). "Thanks, But No Thanks: As others scrambled for coaching jobs, Bill Parcells rejected two whopping offers". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  3. Collier, Gene (February 6, 2006). "Taylor's interception clips Seahawk's wings". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  4. The NFL Today. CBS. January 11, 2020.
  5. Bouchette, Ed (March 5, 2008). "Cowhers will move, but not to Penn State". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved March 7, 2008.
  6. "Cowher Doesn't Plan on Coaching in 2009". TSN. January 4, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  7. "Bill Cowher talks to National Agents Alliance Agents about opportunity and hard work".
  8. Aaron on (August 7, 2011). "Aaron's Experience As An Extra On 'The Dark Knight Rises' *SPOILERS INCLUDED* - The Spill Movie Community". My.spill.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  9. "Kaye Cowher, wife of former Steelers coach, dies at age 54". WRALsportsfan.com. Associated Press. July 24, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  10. "Bill Cowher's daughter to wed NHL enforcer". Sports.nationalpost.com. July 13, 2011. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  11. "Lindsay Cowher gets engaged to Ryan Kelly from Duke". WTAE.com. May 24, 2013. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014.
  12. Prunty, Brendan (November 5, 2015). "Bill Cowher's New Normal". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  13. Bennett, Abbie (June 24, 2018). "NCSU grad, former Steelers coach Bill Cowher selling Raleigh house for $2 million". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  14. Pryor, Brooke (July 1, 2020). "Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher tested positive for the coronavirus". Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  15. Tara DeGeorges (April 12, 2013). "Enjoy Sports Better: Bill Cowher is TWC's Head Coach". www.twcableuntangled.com. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  16. "Bill Cowher Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks –". Pro-football-reference.com. May 8, 1957. Retrieved August 3, 2012.

Further reading
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