Bill Cowher
Template:NFLretired William Laird Cowher (born May 8, 1957) is a former American football coach and player. Cowher resigned after 15 seasons as the Steelers' coach on January 5, 2007, just 11 months to the day after winning 2005-06's Super Bowl XL. He currently is a studio analyst for The NFL Today.
Early life
Born in Crafton, Pennsylvania, Cowher excelled in football, basketball, and track for Carlynton High in Crafton, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At North Carolina State University, Cowher was a starting linebacker, team captain, and team MVP in his senior year. He graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in education.
Pro career
He began his NFL career as a player. He was a free-agent linebacker with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1979, and then signed with the Cleveland Browns the following year. Cowher played three seasons (1980–82) in Cleveland before being traded back to the Eagles, where he played two more years (1983–84).
Coaching career
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 became the fifteenth head coach in Steelers history when he succeeded Chuck Noll on January 21, 1992 – but only the second head coach since the NFL merger in 1970. 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 ten postseason playoff berths, 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. It has become an article of faith among NFL pundits that the Steelers do not have a bad team two years in a row – they have never lost 10 or more games in consecutive years since the 1970 NFL merger. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers had the best record of any team in the National Football League 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.
During the following season, there was talk about Cowher leaving the Steelers, ostensibly to spend more time with his family. On January 5, 2007, Cowher stepped down after 15 years at the helm of the franchise. The Steelers hired former Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin as Cowher's successor.
Cowher's record as a head coach is 149-90-1 (161-99-1 including playoff games).
After Pittsburgh
On February 15, 2007, he signed on to the The NFL Today on CBS as a studio analyst, joining Dan Marino, Shannon Sharpe, and Boomer Esiason.
On April 28, 2007, Cowher's remaining Pittsburgh belongings were to be auctioned off to the public. Only two items with Steeler logos were available for sale.[1]
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 rumours concerning his coaching future by stating, "I'm not going anywhere."[2] The Cowhers placed their Raleigh, North Carolina home on the market, with the intention of building a new house two miles away.
Putting an end to numerous unfounded rumours of his return to coaching in the NFL, Cowher stated on CBS's "NFL Today" show that he does not plan to become a head coach in 2009. He said the timing is not right for his return to the sidelines. Instead, he will remain as an analyst for CBS[3].
Coaching tree
Assistant coaches under Bill Cowher that became Head Coaches in the NFL:
Dom Capers (Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans)
Chan Gailey (Dallas Cowboys)
Jim Haslett (New Orleans Saints/St. Louis Rams)
Mike Mularkey (Buffalo Bills)
Ken Whisenhunt (Arizona Cardinals)
Dick LeBeau (Cincinnati Bengals)
Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals)
Family
Bill Cowher's 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 is 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). Bill and Kaye have three daughters. One of their daughters, Meagan, played basketball at Princeton University from 2004 through 2008. In 2007, the Cowher family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina from suburban Pittsburgh (Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania).
Endorsements
Cowher is under an exclusive autograph contract with the Mounted Memories company of Florida. Cowher was also on the cover of EA Sports' 2006 video game NFL Head Coach.
Head coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| PIT | 1992 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in AFC Central | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Buffalo Bills in AFC Divisional Game. |
| PIT | 1993 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2nd in AFC Central | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Kansas City Chiefs in AFC Wild-Card Game. |
| PIT | 1994 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1st in AFC Central | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to San Diego Chargers in AFC Championship Game. |
| PIT | 1995 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in AFC Central | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost to Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. |
| PIT | 1996 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1st in AFC Central | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to New England Patriots in AFC Divisional Game. |
| PIT | 1997 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in AFC Central | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Denver Broncos in AFC Championship Game. |
| PIT | 1998 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3rd in AFC Central | - | - | - | - |
| PIT | 1999 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 4th in AFC Central | - | - | - | - |
| PIT | 2000 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3rd in AFC Central | - | - | - | - |
| PIT | 2001 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .812 | 1st in AFC Central | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to New England Patriots in AFC Championship Game. |
| PIT | 2002 | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 1st in AFC North | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Tennessee Titans in AFC Divisional Game. |
| PIT | 2003 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3rd in AFC North | - | - | - | - |
| PIT | 2004 | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 1st in AFC North | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to New England Patriots in AFC Championship Game. |
| PIT | 2005 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2nd in AFC North | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl XL Champions. |
| PIT | 2006 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in AFC North | - | - | - | - |
| PIT Total | 149 | 90 | 1 | .623 | 12 | 9 | .571 | |||
| Total[4] | 149 | 90 | 1 | .623 | 12 | 9 | .571 | |||
Coaching record vs. other teams
How the Steelers have fared in games with Cowher as head coach.
| Team | Wins | Losses | Ties | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona Cardinals | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Baltimore Ravens | 13 | 9 | 0 |
| 4 | Buffalo Bills | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Carolina Panthers | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Chicago Bears | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Cincinnati Bengals | 21 | 9 | 0 |
| 8 | Cleveland Browns | 19 | 5 | 0 |
| 9 | Dallas Cowboys | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Denver Broncos | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | Detroit Lions | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | Green Bay Packers | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | Houston Texans | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Indianapolis Colts | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 8 | 10 | 0 |
| 16 | Kansas City Chiefs | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | Miami Dolphins | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | Minnesota Vikings | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | New England Patriots | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | New Orleans Saints | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | New York Giants | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | New York Jets | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Oakland Raiders | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | St. Louis Rams | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | San Diego Chargers | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | San Francisco 49ers | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 28 | Seattle Seahawks | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 29 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | Tennessee Titans | 11 | 12 | 0 |
| 31 | Washington Redskins | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 149 | 90 | 1 |
Coaching record vs. other teams(playoffs)
How the Steelers have fared in playoff games with Cowher as head coach.
| Team | Wins | Losses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baltimore Ravens | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Buffalo Bills | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Cincinnati Bengals | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Cleveland Browns | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Dallas Cowboys | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Denver Broncos | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Kansas City Chiefs | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | New England Patriots | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | New York Jets | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | San Diego Chargers | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Seattle Seahawks | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Tennessee Titans | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 12 | 9 |
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (September 2007) |
- Bill Cowher has been nicknamed "The Chin" or "The Jaw" because of the face that he makes in his frustration or anger.
- Bill Cowher had a higher win percentage (.619) than Chuck Noll(1969-91)(.572), who won four Super Bowls with the Steelers. This was because of Cowher having a higher regular-season win percentage (.623 to Noll's .566). Noll had a higher post-season win percentage (.667 to Cowher's .571).
- Cowher has a street named after him in Crafton, the Pittsburgh suburb where he grew up. This is where he used to play as a child, and it is now named Cowher Way in his honor.
- Cowher made an appearance in The Waterboy. He sits next to Jimmy Johnson.
Notes and references
- ^ Going Once, Going Twice...Chin! I Mean, Sold! Mondesishouse.com. Accessed 8 September 2007.
- ^ Bouchette, Ed (2008-03-05). "Cowhers will move, but not to Penn State". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "COWHER DOESN'T PLAN ON COACHING IN 2009". TSN. 2009-01-04. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ Bill Cowher Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks - Pro-Football-Reference.com
External links
- Articles with trivia sections from September 2007
- 1957 births
- Living people
- Head coaches of American football
- American football linebackers
- Players of American football from Pennsylvania
- Cleveland Browns coaches
- Cleveland Browns players
- Kansas City Chiefs coaches
- NC State Wolfpack football players
- German-Americans
- Sportspeople from Pittsburgh
- Philadelphia Eagles players
- Pittsburgh Steelers coaches
- People from Raleigh, North Carolina
- National Football League announcers
- North Carolina State University alumni
- Undrafted National Football League players