Steelers players hoped for different outcome to the end

But most were not shocked and most expect him to return to coaching in not too distant furture

Saturday, January 06, 2007
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Most Steelers players believed Bill Cowher would resign, yet in true football vernacular they wished for a Hail Mary pass that would keep him as their coach right until the end.
It never came.

"I'll tell you what, it's not a shock, we all knew what way he was leaning," defensive lineman Chris Hoke said. "We held out hope he'd stick around. As players, we have a lot of respect for coach and love playing for him. Now that it's official, there's a knot in your stomach."

Cowher, 49, resigned yesterday with one year left on his contract, saying "it's time" after 15 seasons as Steelers coach.

Jerome Bettis can relate to that on two fronts. He too made a retirement decision twice -- once opting to return to the Steelers in 2005 and last February quitting for good. As an NFL studio host for NBC-TV, he angered Cowher last August when he predicted on a broadcast that he believed his old coach would quit at the end of the 2006 season.

Yesterday, though, Bettis was in no mood to say "I told you so."

"It's definitely a sad day for the city of Pittsburgh and the Steelers because coach Cowher was a great coach,'' said Bettis, who was in the city yesterday to tape his weekly show on WPXI-TV. "A lot of people mention our championship, but one championship doesn't do the justice he deserves.

"To be able to keep a team as competitive as he did for as long is a feat in itself. The numbers he was able to put up in Pittsburgh are second to none. I really think lot of people don't give coach enough credit in terms of creating the organization that was built to sustain the test of time."

There was one great difference for Bettis because once he retired, he knew there was no turning back. Cowher can leave the game for several years and return as a coach. Bettis and other Steelers expect him to do that.

"I think we'll see him coaching at some point," Bettis said. "I think right now he needs to recharge the batteries. The way he coaches is all or nothing. Money is an issue but I don't think it's the driving force of everything for coach."

One source said not to be surprised if Cowher does not try to get the Carolina Panthers' coaching job if John Fox is fired in the next year or so. Charlotte is a shorter commute to Raleigh than is Pittsburgh.

"When he takes his year off and comes back, he'll be rejuvenated and refreshed," tackle Max Starks said.

"He's a great coach. He's been doing it 15 years. He definitely deserves that break. You don't want to be that coach who's burnt out when you finally step down and take that break. Then you're like Joe Gibbs, an old guy trying to come back.

"I hate he's going, but I respect him so much. It hurts, but it's totally understandable."

Quarterback Charlie Batch believes Cowher will return to coach.

"He has a lot of coaching left in him," Batch said. "I wouldn't be surprised. He said he needs to be reenergized. Who knows what will happen four months from now. If someone offers you $10 million to come out of retirement, that's 10 million reasons.

"It wouldn't surprise me to see him come back into coaching next year or five years from now. That's what he's been doing for a long time, not just the past 15 years, but coaching and playing."
Hoke said part of Cowher's success did not just come when he coached his team into the playoffs or to Super Bowl victories. Some of it occurred this past season after they went 2-6 and things could have turned ugly.

"With a lot of coaches, the team would have fallen apart,'' Hoke said. "He did a good job keeping us together and motivating and rectifying what went wrong and not being a jerk about it. He wasn't yelling and screaming at people. He's a great motivator and he was not going to go about it in the wrong way."

(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com )