Cowher left his mark on his sport

Mike Bires
01/07/2007
Beaver County Times

By stepping down as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bill Cowher leaves behind a legacy that places him among the most successful and most identifiable coaches in National Football League history.

Over the past 15 years, the man with the most famous jaw in professional sports had his share of critics. But now that he's decided to put his coaching career on hold, his whole body of work with the Steelers is viewed as a masterpiece.

On Friday when Cowher officially announced his resignation, Steelers owner Dan Rooney called him "one of the great head coaches of his time."

Rooney isn't alone in holding Cowher in such high esteem.

No, Cowher didn't change the way the game is played. And no, he didn't scheme up any ingenious strategies that will be copied by future coaches.

But in an era of pro football parity where free agency and a salary cap can dramatically change the fortunes of a franchise from one season to the next, Cowher made the Steelers highly competitive for most of his regime.

"He's going to the Hall of Fame," said Mike Golic, an ESPN pro football analyst who co-hosts a national radio show. "It's a credit to the Rooney family for providing the franchise with so much coaching stability. But certainly Bill deserves credit for what he's done. I mean, come on now. Don't you think his record speaks for itself?"

With a lifetime record of 161-99-1, Cowher ranks 13th on the NFL's all-time victory list, playoff games included. He ranks 12th with 149 regular-season wins.

Only seven men ever coached for the same team longer, and all seven have already been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. To put Cowher's accomplishments into perspective, consider that NFL teams have made 391 head coach hires since the league started in 1920.

Since 1992 when Cowher succeeded Noll, 105 head coaches were hired throughout the league. During that time, the Steelers posted the NFL's best regular-season record."

Bill Cowher leaves a great legacy," said Vic Carucci, a senior writer for NFL.com. "Yes, he only won one Super Bowl for a franchise that won multiple Super Bowls in the 1970s. But his consistency of success stands for a lot. I think the Rooneys should be commended for their part in the continuity during Bill's years with the Steelers and resisting change even when they may have been tempted to do so (when the Steelers missed the playoffs from 1998-2000). But for the most part, the Steelers have been very competitive throughout the Cowher years."

"Bill also brought an identity of toughness and a sense of accountability that were signatures of his teams. We all know how the Steelers have always been such a big part of Pittsburgh's identity. I don't know of a single person - and I'm including Jack Lambert and Terry Bradshaw - who personified that identity more than Bill Cowher. That drive of his ... that passion ... that chin ... his teams were always extensions of himself."

Big game loser?

Critics suggest that Cowher didn't win enough in Pittsburgh. They point to his record of 2-4 in AFC championship games - including 1-4 at home - and say Cowher didn't do enough to get the Steelers to the Super Bowl more often.

There are critics who still say, despite the Steelers' Super Bowl victory last season, that Cowher couldn't win the "big one."

Former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, who retired the night the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL, disagrees.

"People say he couldn't win the big one. People say he didn't win enough championships and that only one wasn't enough ... I can't believe that. That's sad," said Bettis, who's now an NFL analyst for NBC Sports. "He's not the reason (for those losses in the AFC championship games). He's the reason this football team has been so consistent over the years."

Jim O'Brien, a Pittsburgh-based sports author, also scoffs at those who say Cowher underachieved. "Fans can be so unrealistic," O'Brien said. "Too many fans think the Super Bowl should be the last game on the Steelers' schedule every year, but that isn't the way it is in the NFL these days. Of course, Cowher contributed to that way of thinking because of his own mantra of 'We aren't satisfied unless we win the Super Bowl.' A lot of people don't realize that for as great as Joe Namath was, he only took the (New York) Jets to one Super Bowl."

Bill Cowher's legacy is safe," O'Brien added. "He's never been more appreciated than now, after he's gone. Cowher had a tough act to follow in Chuck Noll. But I think it's hard to imagine anyone coming in and doing better than Cowher has (over the past 15 years). "If you ask Steelers right now about the prospects about who the next Stcelers' coach will be, the majority of people will say there's nobody out there better than Cowher."

Favorably compares with Noll

When Noll guided the Steelers to those four Super Bowl titles in the 1970s, no less than nine future Hall of Famers played in Pittsburgh - defensive tackle Joe Greene, quarterback Terry Bradshaw, running back Franco Harris, wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, center Mike Webster, linebackers Jack Ham and Lambert, and cornerback Mel Blount.

It appears that only four future Hall of Famers were part of the Cowher era - cornerback Rod Woodson, center Dermontti Dawson, guard Alan Faneca and Bettis.

Still, during the Cowher era, several Steelers achieved individual milestones. Ex-linebacker Jason Gildon established the franchise's all-time sack record (77).

Running back Barry Foster set the franchise's single-season rushing record (1,690 yards) in 1992, Cowher's first year on the job. This year, Willie Parker set the team's single-game rushing record (223) and became the first Steelers back to rush for over 200 yards twice in his career.

Over the past several years, wide receiver Hines Ward has set several pass-catching records, including most career catches (648).

And last year, Ben Roethlisberger became the youngest quarterback to lead his team to victory in the Super Bowl.

"Bill Cowher led us through one of the most successful eras in franchise history and has my lasting respect and admiration," Rooney said.

"Let me tell you what Bill Cowher's legacy is," added Golic, who played defensive tackle for nine years in the NFL. "He's a player's coach. He knows when to get in your face or when to pat you on the back. He's a player's best friend, but still everyone knows that he's the coach and expects things done his way.

"About the best compliment I could give the guy is that I wish I could have played for him."

©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2007