Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By his own words, Bill Cowher has been considering resigning as Steelers coach since, at the latest, some point in the 2005 season. It's about time he came up with a decision on his future.
In his last public statement on the matter, Cowher said Sunday he needed time away from the emotional season-ending victory against the Cincinnati Bengals to reflect on his decision, which was understandable. On Monday and early yesterday, Cowher finished his exit interviews with the players. Presumably, he did those without the emotion of the final game clouding his thinking. Which means, by now, probably at home in North Carolina, his mind should be clear. He should have an answer.
Cowher originally had suggested he might take weeks after the season to come to a decision. That timeline was outrageous and he later amended it and indicated the process would be done in a more timely fashion. He owes it to the Steelers to provide that answer by the end of this week. That's more than fair. That's not asking too much.
If he has been thinking about this for more than a year and if he were leaning in one direction, as he said Sunday, five days after the game is more than enough time to come to a decision.
If Cowher is resigning, and there's a large body of evidence to indicate that after 15 seasons on the job he will, the Steelers need to get busy in finding his successor. That's not to suggest anything about the search process should be rushed. That would be the worst possible strategy.
At the same time, the process should be accomplished as quickly as possible for two reasons.
The sooner a new coach comes aboard, the sooner the franchise returns to normal. The new coach can begin the process of hiring a staff, implementing his program and becoming involved with his role in the draft and offseason conditioning. If a coach from outside the organization is hired, it's even more important that it be done with deliberate speed.
Two other teams, Arizona and Atlanta, have fired their coaches and are in the process of looking for replacements. It's possible, if not probable, that both of those teams will be looking at some of the same people as the Steelers. It's also possible that other teams will be looking for a new coach. Again, while not wanting to rush the process, the Steelers want the best man, not the best man still available.
If Cowher's decision is to resign, the interviewing process can begin next week. It's not something that can be rushed. It would require several weeks with possibly as many as 10 candidates being interviewed. Once finalists are selected, another round of interviews will be needed. Hopefully, the process can be done and a new coach hired before the Super Bowl on Feb. 4.
It will be easy enough to schedule interviews with coaches on the staff who might be candidates. Two certain ones, and the leading candidates, are assistant head coach and offensive line coach Russ Grimm and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. The Steelers also might interview highly respected defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who is the only assistant coach with previous head coaching experience in the NFL.
It is an NFL rule that at least one minority candidate be interviewed. Considering there are so many highly qualified such candidates, this is not a formality but a necessary step in securing the best possible man. When Cowher was hired in 1992, Joe Greene was one of the finalists. Ron Rivera, the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears, and Mike Singletary, the Hall of Fame linebacker who is the assistant head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, are two minority candidates worthy of a look.
There is a plethora of college coaches who might be interested but it's not likely the Rooney family will move in that direction. If they do, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz might be one. Ferentz, a graduate of Upper St. Clair High School, spent six years in the NFL as an assistant coach.
Dozens of names will be floated in the days to come. Some are familiar, like Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt. Some are unknowns. Lack of public reputation should not be considered a drawback.
There are many excellent and unknown assistant coaches in the NFL. Whisenhunt, for example, is well known in this region, but when he was a candidate for the Oakland job last season, he was probably unknown to most fans in the Bay area.
Grimm and Whisenhunt, because of their credentials and because of the continuity they would provide, are the leading candidates. But there's a wide swath of unknowns and barely knowns who also will be considered.
The whole process is ready to roll. All that's lacking is a decision from Cowher.
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