Polamalu named YMCA's Person of the Year

By The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Saturday, February 10, 2007


Steelers Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu was named the Downtown YMCA's Person of the Year, the organization announced Friday.
Polamalu will be honored, along with 100 scholar-athletes from Western Pennsylvania high schools, at the YMCA's 33rd annual scholar-athlete banquet May 31 at the Hilton Hotel, downtown.

Committee members cited Polamalu's strength in spirit, mind and body and support of the YMCA's core values -- caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.

Last year's recipient was PNC Financial Service Group chairman and CEO James E. Rohr. Previous winners include Jamie Dixon, Jerome Bettis, Hines Ward, Dan Rooney, Lynn Swann, Bill Cowher, Jim Leyland, Dr. Freddie Fu, Stan Savran, Chuck Noll, Andy Russell, Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier.

"It is a great honor to be recognized by the YMCA, whose support of children, families and communities is of particular importance to me," said Polamalu, in a statement released by the YMCA. "The true champions of this event, however, are the students being recognized for their accomplishments as scholar-athletes. Their academic and athletic achievements and commitment to working to strengthen their communities are an inspiration to all of us."

Proceeds from the scholar-athlete banquet benefit the downtown YMCA's Strong Communities Campaign and Activate Pittsburgh initiative, which funds after-school programs and provides memberships to individuals and families who can't afford YMCA fees.

Hartings Makes Retirement Official

Jeff Hartings throws a block on Philadelphia's Nate Wayne in a game in the 2004 season.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

One year, you are watching with your wife and kids as the confetti falls on you and the Super Bowl trophy. The next, you are explaining how the pain in your knees has taken the fun out of the game and that it is time to retire,

Jeff Hartings, the Steelers' center since 2001, made it official yesterday after word leaked out last week that he had told his teammates he was done. After speaking with new coach Mike Tomlin on the phone, he told the Pittsburgh media by conference call that it is time to move on to a new calling in his life.

"I'm getting out at the right time because I felt I wasn't going to be able to go into the offseason to work out and be prepared," Hartings, 34, said. "I don't enjoy working very much anymore because it's painful. When it starts becoming painful, you'd rather not do it. Since I'd rather not do it, it's time for me to retire.

"I'll always love the game. But the injuries, and the playing with pain, and having to take medicine to practice and play, has taken away some of the joy."

Hartings, who took a pay cut to play last season, had a year left on his contract. Although he had never played center before signing as a free agent, Hartings was a fixture at a position that has become a legacy with the Steelers since 1964.

Ray Mansfield, Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson and Hartings were the starting centers who initiated nearly every offensive play in 43 years. Hartings missed only six games in six seasons because of injuries. But it is a position and a profession that takes its toll on the body, and Hartings didn't want the deterioration in his achy knees to infringe on family moments like playing with his six kids.

"It would diminish my ability to play in the back yard with my kids," Hartings said. "[It's] literally not being able to run around and to catch them without doing all the things you do before a practice or a game because your knees are sore. That's been going for two or three years, and, this year, it finally got to the point where I decided I didn't want to sacrifice any of my joints in my body that would diminish my ability to be able to play with them for the next 15 or 20 years. For me, it definitely tipped the scales."

It was an injury to his left knee four years ago -- one that robbed him of most of his cartilage -- that got Hartings to think about life after football. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in Salt Lake City and plan to open a non-denominational church. In his ministry with Luther Elliss, a former teammate when he was with the Detroit Lions, Hartings wants to work with kids because an 11-year career in the NFL has given him financial security. He'll be in action Sundays, but in a church, not butting heads with nose tackles and linebackers.

"I'll definitely be in some kind of ministry," said Hartings, a first-round draft choice out of Penn State who has done missionary work in Nicaragua.

"Just working with kids, doing something that could last for an eternity in some people's lives, making peoples' lives better."

Chukky Okobi has been groomed for the past six years to take over the position, but the Steelers also have Marvin Philip on the roster.

"The position has been very important to the Steelers, and I'm sure they're going to find a very good replacement for myself," Hartings said.

Hartings watched the Indianapolis Colts succeed the Steelers as NFL champions Sunday, a year after the Steelers went on an unprecedented run of winning three road playoffs games before beating Seattle in the Super Bowl.

Winning a championship was his greatest moment in the game, but he could not help but think about what might have been in an 8-8 season that fell short of the playoffs.

"Every year, you work hard and go into season with one goal, and that's to win a Super Bowl," Hartings said. "[On Sunday] I was thinking about the record we could have had. I think it was the most disappointing season I've had in the NFL. We didn't play well. Made too many mistakes. From a team standpoint, I think every guy on the team should be disappointed. I think it's just because our expectations are so high."

A new era begins next year with a new coach, a new offensive lineman and a new center. But Hartings thinks the future is still bright for the Steelers.

"They're definitely a Super Bowl contender. When you have that much talent that you can turn the ball over five times and still go into overtime, there's not very many teams in the NFL that can do that," he said, recalling losses to the Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos that could have made the difference in making the playoffs.

Dealing with success and disappointment is part of being a professional athlete, and Hartings figures he'll be able to use his experiences in his ministry.

Art Rooney II, president of the Steelers, wished him well.

"Jeff Hartings embraced switching to a new position when he joined the Steelers and continued our team's legacy of outstanding players at the center position," Rooney said. "He was highly respected throughout our entire organization for being a tremendous role model on and off the field."



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(Robert Dvorchak can be reached at bdvorchak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1959. )

Super Bowl Lacks Luster Without Steelers

By Mike Wereschagin

PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Sunday, February 4, 2007


On the bright side, it'll be a lot easier to get a seat at the bar.
A year after Pittsburgh fans celebrated a fifth National Football League championship with jubilant screams and thumbs thrust skyward, much of the city is greeting Super Bowl XLI with a shrug and a yawn.

Trevor Melville said the Super Bowl party he's hosting this year will be geared more toward his guests than the game.

"I didn't think anybody was doing anything," said Melville, 36, of Bridgeville. He invited about 15 college friends to his Sunday soiree.

One friend replied in an e-mail, saying she'd be there and asking, "Who's playing?"

"It's more of a social gathering than a football gathering," Melville said.

Steelers merchandise is the best-selling of any team in the league, but sales have drifted back to normal after the stratospheric numbers in 2006, said local shopkeepers.

"Last year, they were lined up out the door. We had to hire security guards," said Marcia Hellman, manager of Mike Feinberg & Co. in the Strip District, which claims to have the city's largest stock of Steelers paraphernalia. "This year, you could have the whole store to yourself."

Hellman declined to release sales figures comparing the past two years, as did Shawna Kocik, manager at Hometowne Sports in Station Square.

"This is more normal than last year," Kocik said.

Penguins merchandise sales, however, have been on the rise as hockey fans, some of whom were angered by the 2004-05 player lockout, trickle back to the sport. The team features several of the NHL's best and youngest stars and is in the midst of a multi-game winning streak.

"We really didn't sell a lot of Penguins gear last year. This year, the Penguins are really booming," Kocik said. "Of course, the Steelers are still the biggest hit."

Sports bars are bracing for brisk business tonight, but it's nothing like last year, said Stephanie Wagoner, manager of Hi-Tops in the North Side.

This year, the bar won't charge a cover, and it will be giving out prizes all night. Last year, no such enticements were necessary. Before Super Bowl XL began, Hi-Tops sold enough $75 admission tickets to keep the bar filled all night.

"We're still going to have a pretty good crowd," Wagoner said. "But last year was just insane. ... We were at maximum capacity the whole night and it was a crazy party all day."

Pittsburgh police last year dispatched dozens of officers in riot gear to the South Side and Oakland, where they tried to contain crowds who set fire to couches and overturned cars. This year, the department is planning only on dispatching roving patrols to catch drunken drivers, said police spokeswoman Diane Richard.

The easygoing atmosphere is fine with Melville, who said he's looking forward to a Super Bowl that's just a game.

"It's a good excuse for friends to get together -- watch the game, watch the commercials."

Mike Wereschagin can be reached at mwereschagin@tribweb.com or (412) 391-0927.

Happier Times From a Year Ago

Steelers' Hartings retires

Starks, Okobi say long-standing knee problems a big factor in center's decision

Friday, February 02, 2007

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Another era has ended for the Steelers, who have been informed by center Jeff Hartings that he will retire.

Hartings, who succeeded Dermontti Dawson at a position that has been the team's most stable and successful for the past four decades, told his fellow offensive linemen shortly after the season ended that he planned to retire.

"He's done. He told all of us," said offensive tackle Max Starks, an Orlando, Fla., native spending time around Super Bowl activities this week. "He said, 'Hey guys, I'm going to retire, I just wanted to let you guys know before it came out.' We had our moments with him; we shared our last moments, gave him a big hug and wished him well in all his future endeavors."

Hartings ends an 11-year playing career with two teams at two positions. He began as a guard after the Detroit Lions drafted him in the first round from Penn State in 1996. He switched to center, a position he had never played, when he signed with the Steelers in 2001 as an unrestricted free agent.

Dawson was forced into retirement after the 2000 season because of lingering hamstring injuries. Hartings moved in and started all but six games over the past six seasons at center despite chronic problems and soreness with his knees because of a loss of cartilage.

Hartings made the Pro Bowl as a center after the 2004 and '05 seasons.

"He had some issues with his knees and everything," said Chukky Okobi, Hartings' backup the past six years who likely will take his spot next season. "He did everything he possibly could do in a career, went to Pro Bowls, won a Super Bowl, and won a bunch of games. Whatever more can he do?"

Okobi, speaking from his home in Pittsburgh yesterday, confirmed that Hartings told his teammates he had retired. Hartings did not return a telephone message left for him yesterday. There's no guarantee that Okobi will take over -- rookie Marvin Philip also was on the roster last season -- and the Steelers have a new head coach and offensive line coach. But they have been grooming Okobi for this day.

"From what I understand, I have an opportunity now after six years," Okobi said. "I think I deserve a shot. I think everything will work out."

Hartings' tenure followed a rich tradition at that position. Ray Mansfield started from 1964 into the mid-1970s when he began sharing the position with Mike Webster. Webster, elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, started through 1988 and made nine Pro Bowls. Dawson took over and made seven Pro Bowls.

Okobi said he wants to continue that custom at center.

"They'd probably run me out of town if I don't. The standard's been set. I have no choice. There were four centers before me, all made Pro Bowls. I don't want to be that guy that they say, well he just filled in for a couple years and they got someone else."

Hartings has talked about retiring for several years because of his achy knees, which actually improved the past two seasons. He took a pay cut to return to play for the Steelers last season at $2.2 million. He had one year left on his contract for 2007.

Starks said Hartings told his teammates that he plans to enter an entirely new kind of profession in Utah, where he lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Rebecca, and their six children.

"He's going to start a church," Starks said. "He's helping to build one."

According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, Hartings is a born-again Christian who has performed missionary work in Nicaragua and plans a new non-denominational church with former Lions teammate Luther Elliss.

Hartings made the adjustment to center from guard seamlessly, although there were early problems between him and quarterbacks with the snaps from center. He was not as quick as Dawson, but Hartings was agile enough to block on the move and didn't require help from the guards on blocking assignments.

"Jeff was kind of the father of the offensive line," Starks said. "He's an elder statesman in the room. When he spoke you always listened.

"We respected him, and he was ultimately the captain of the offensive line because he made all the calls and put us in the right position to be successful. He's a valuable asset and he's going to be missed."



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

Dan Rooney: Born to be a Steeler

Paul Taglaibue presents the Lombardi Trophy to Dan Rooney after Super Bowl XL.

Dapper Dan Lifetime Achievement Award

Sunday, January 28, 2007

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Dan Rooney sat in his office at old Three Rivers Stadium one day in the 1980s and pointed a finger at the Steelers National Football League charter hanging on a wall.

"I wish that thing were still worth $2,500," Rooney said.

Forbes Magazine pegs the Steelers' value at $880 million today, a tidy return on Art Rooney's original investment to join the NFL in 1933.

The reason his son Dan preferred the old value of the team is for estate planning and because the Rooneys do not plan to sell the Steelers and reap the team's worth.

Keeping the team in his family and in Pittsburgh -- and mostly as a success on the field -- is what Dan Rooney cites as his most gratifying accomplishment as the Dapper Dan Club selects him as winner of its 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Rooney will accept the award April 15 at the annual Dapper Dan Dinner at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The Dapper Dan Man of the Year and Woman of the Year, yet to be announced, also will receive their honors at the dinner that night.

"Speaking of accomplishments, if that's the proper word, I would say keeping the team in Pittsburgh and being as viable as we've been," Rooney said.

The Steelers' five Lombardi Trophies in six trips to the Super Bowl are tied for the most. Dan and Art Rooney are one of only two fathers and sons to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

All that success came after the Rooneys spurned offers from other cities in the 1950s and 1960s to move and/or sell their team, including Atlanta before the Falcons were born as an expansion franchise there in 1966.

"I always felt the team in Pittsburgh was very meaningful for the city itself," Rooney said. "It's almost like a public trust of ours to operate and do it right. Atlanta ... did everything to get us to come. We actually played a few preseason games there. I was trying to help them.

"I was on the expansion committee and they said: 'Why don't you move here?' I said don't waste your time. They said, use it, it will help you, you've been good to us. I said no, we don't do that."

"The one thing my father always said was Pittsburgh deserved a team and, now that we have it, we'll keep it. The one thing we never did, we never threatened to move, never used that as a threat."

Rooney, born the year before his ballclub in 1932, began what would be a string of jobs with the Steelers when he first served as a ballboy in 1946 at the age of 14. The next season, he played football at North Catholic High School.

"Your paper," Rooney said, "did a big piece on me: 'North Catholic's Halfback Problems Over, Dan Rooney Coming.' My friends really razzed me about that. They said, we thought you were a big wise guy. I didn't have anything to do with the story."

Rooney at first played halfback, the position that handled the football in the single wing. By the time he was a senior at North Catholic, he was selected second-team All-City Catholic League.

"First team was some guy who went to some little school, St. Justin's," Rooney said.

That was Johnny Unitas. The Steelers eventually signed Unitas after he played at Louisville, and coach Walt Kiesling cut him.

"He was the best," Rooney said. "Maybe the best quarterback whoever played in this league."

The second-team all-star took a different route. He graduated from Duquesne University with a degree in accounting in 1955 and went to work for his father full time. He signed players to contracts while he was still in college. He sold ads for the game program. He worked in the ticket office. He learned everything about the game and the business.

In 1965, Dan convinced his father to accept the resignation of hard-drinking coach Buddy Parker, and in 1969 he chose coach Chuck Noll.

Art Rooney finally made his son the team's president in 1975, long after he was running the show. Dan passed that title along to his son Art II in 2002 and became the team's chairman.

Rooney long has worked on league matters and on many NFL committees, including the powerful executive council. He has been credited with helping to solve at least two players strikes, in 1982 and in 1987, and one officials strike. He was the driving force for management that helped forge a new collective bargaining agreement in 1993 that remains the basis for today's CBA. Gene Upshaw, the NFL Players Association executive director, considers him a friend.

Rooney might have had the job of NFL commissioner that went to Paul Tagliabue in 1989 but he preferred not to leave the Steelers.

"I've been asked why I spend so much time on league matters, that you should take care of your own," Rooney said.

"I always said we're part of the NFL; by helping them we're helping ourselves."

Rooney will receive the Dapper Dan's third Lifetime Achievement Award. Arnold Palmer won in 2005 and last year it went to Joe Paterno.

"This is a great award," Rooney said. "I've been going to the Dapper Dan banquet since I was 10 or 12, when Al Abrams ran it. I heard a lot of great speeches. I heard Billy Conn say we're going to bring the heavyweight title back to Pittsburgh where it belongs."

Conn lost that 1946 fight to Joe Louis. Rooney's teams later went on to bring titles back to Pittsburgh five times.


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

List swells to 5 with addition of Gailey

Friday, January 12, 2007

By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Steelers will add another familiar name to their list of coaching candidates when they interview Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey, one of their former offensive coordinators, about replacing Bill Cowher.

Gailey, 55, will meet tomorrow with team chairman Dan Rooney, president Art Rooney II and director of football operations Kevin Colbert about returning to the team where he was an assistant coach from 1994-97. Gailey will be the fifth and, apparently, final candidate to interview for the position.

After they interview Gailey, the Steelers will begin paring their list of candidates and conduct second interviews next week with those who make the final cut.

They already have interviewed four candidates for the position -- offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, offensive line coach Russ Grimm, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin and Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera.

Whisenhunt is scheduled to have a second interview today with the Arizona Cardinals, who are looking for a replacement for fired Dennis Green. Grimm had a first interview earlier this week with the Cardinals.

The Steelers have no immediate timetable to name a successor to Cowher, who resigned last week after 15 seasons as head coach. But it is possible an announcement could be made by the end of next week.

Gailey, who already has interviewed with the Miami Dolphins about replacing Nick Saban, could not be reached for comment.

Gailey has long been considered a favorite of Cowher, who hired him in 1994 to be the Steelers' wide receivers coach. When he feared he was going to lose Gailey to another team after Super Bowl XXX in 1995, Cowher did not re-hire offensive coordinator Ron Erhardt and promoted Gailey to the position.

After two years as offensive coordinator, Gailey left to become head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, leading them to back-to-back playoff appearances and winning the NFC East title in 1998.

The Cowboys, though, fired him after two seasons, and Gailey joined the Miami Dolphins as offensive coordinator in 2000 and '01, working under head coach Dave Wannstedt. In seven of his eight seasons as an offensive coordinator in the NFL, Gailey always has had a 1,000-yard rusher, including Jerome Bettis with the Steelers.

Gailey, though, desired to return to college coaching, and he became head coach at Georgia Tech in 2002. He has led the Yellow Jackets to a 37-27 record in five seasons, including a 9-5 mark this season which ended with a 38-35 loss to West Virginia in the Gator Bowl

Gailey also was a head coach at Troy State University and Samford University and has a 61-38 record in eight seasons as a college head coach.


(Staff writer Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette contributed to this report. Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1466. )

Whisenhunt: Backers say body of work makes hin easy choice

Thursday, January 11, 2007
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Ken Whisenhunt got his degree in civil engineering at Georgia Tech, but he never really wanted to build bridges. Instead, he wanted to build a football team, construct a winning foundation, assemble the necessary parts of a franchise that had an infrastructure as solid as tungsten steel.

None of that is necessary with the Steelers. They do not need an architect to rebuild a tattered franchise or build a winning tradition. With five Super Bowl trophies on display in their South Side offices, they do not need someone to reinvent the wheel. They just want someone to keep the wheel rolling.

That's why Dan Henning, a former NFL head coach who worked with Whisenhunt as a player and assistant coach, wonders what the Steelers are waiting for to name a replacement for Bill Cowher.

"Next to player personnel in the National Football League, continuity is the next best thing," said Henning, who is offensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers. "Kenny knows the Steelers' organization, they know him. They're not getting an unknown quantity. They know the quality of his work, the way he gets along with people. It's a tremendous advantage in transition."

Henning was head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 1983-86 when Whisenhunt was a tight end/H-back there. He later coached with him for one season with the New York Jets, Whisenhunt's last coaching stop before joining the Steelers in 2004. Henning was also head coach with the San Diego Chargers from 1989-91.

"When we drafted him, he was a quarterback/tight end who could do all things. All those qualities he had as a player have transitioned for him as a coach. I don't know if there are any candidates out there who have all those qualities rolled into one.

"There is an old saying: A prophet in his own land is scorned. It's disappointing to me they haven't jumped on Kenny. Sometimes you hesitate because nobody is perfect. I can tell you this -- nobody knows for sure if somebody will be a successful head coach. You can only gauge based on the credentials and their body of work. Kenny has all that."

Whisenhunt had an indistinguishable career as an NFL player, catching 62 passes for 601 yards and six touchdowns in nine seasons with the Falcons (1985-88), Washington Redskins ('89-90) and Jets ('91-93). In college, he finished as Georgia Tech's second all-time receiving yardage leader (1,264) and fourth in receptions (82).

But it has been as an NFL assistant coach where Whisenhunt's career has been almost meteoric. He joined the Baltimore Ravens as tight end coach in 1997, was special teams coach under Chris Palmer with the Cleveland Browns in '99 and joined the Jets for one season before Cowher hired him to coach the Steelers' tight ends.

Now he could be the Steelers' next head coach. He has interviewed with three other NFL teams since the season ended, making him perhaps the most marketable head-coaching candidate in the league.

But Whisenhunt, 44, doesn't want to coach those other teams as much as he wants to coach the Steelers. That's part of the reason he lost an opportunity this week to replace Jim Mora Jr. as coach in Atlanta. Not that anyone would know underneath that calm, placid exterior.

"What people miss when they deal with him is that he's low-key, but very, very competitive, very focused," Henning said. "He wants to win and his actions follow through with that."

Whisenhunt has always been calm, even-tempered. But it does not belie his intensity, his toughness, nor does it adversely affect his performance.

That was apparent as far back as 1980 when Georgia Tech, in a game against unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Notre Dame, asked Whisenhunt to play quarterback after injuries felled its starter and top backup after a couple series. The Yellow Jackets were 1-8 at the time. And Whisenhunt, a walk-on freshman, wasn't really a quarterback. He was a receiver/defensive back.

But he kept Georgia Tech in the game, and the Yellow Jackets managed a 3-3 tie that derailed Notre Dame's season.

"You knew he was athletic, but when he stepped in to play in that Notre Dame game, you knew the guy had more," Ben Utt, a former NFL guard who was captain of the 1980 Georgia Tech team, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "Especially in hindsight, just the composure you have to have to be able to do that."

Whisenhunt has always done that, whether on game day or on the practice field, whether in uniform or coaching sweats.

"He has this calm presence about him that he will function as if he did it all his life," said former Georgia Tech coach Bill Curry. "He never panics and he's absolutely brilliant.

"He'll make the call that makes the most sense, that requires calm and presence. He won't be plucking things out of the air or choking on a hot dog. Coaches do all kinds of crazy stuff; there is a legion of ways they can panic in those situations. This guy is cold-blooded in the clutch."

Whisenhunt did not always want to be a football coach. When he retired after eight seasons as a tight end/H-back in the NFL, he thought about being a professional golfer, not a far-fetched thought for a person who grew up in Augusta, Ga. So he worked on his game for six months at Willow Springs Country Club in Roswell, Ga., lowering his handicap to 4 and even qualifying for the 1994 U.S. Mid-Amateur.

But, at age 31, staring at the same reality that eventually smacks most professional athletes who desire to be professional golfers, Whisenhunt thought it was time to do something else.

So he called his old position coach with the Falcons, Rod Dowhower, who was in line to become head coach at Vanderbilt University. Whisenhunt asked him if he needed an assistant coach. And, in 1995, a new career was started.

"I didn't know if I felt I could really succeed at it, but I thought it felt like the right thing to do," Whisenhunt said. "If there's anything that felt right, it was that first year at Vanderbilt. I got back into the game."

It began the ascent that has seen Whisenhunt go from position coach to Steelers offensive coordinator in 2004 to maybe the most viable -- certainly the most-interviewed -- head-coaching candidate in the NFL. Last week, a whirlwind tour took Whisenhunt and his wife, Alice, to Atlanta, Arizona and back home to Pittsburgh to interview with the Miami Dolphins in Wayne Huizenga's private jet.

He was the first person Falcons owner Arthur Blank wanted to interview and probably could have had the job if he didn't want to wait to see what would happen with the Steelers. Now he is among what is believed to be a field of four, competing with Russ Grimm and two other candidates -- Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin -- to become head coach of the team whose offense he has directed the past three seasons.

"Tough guy, extremely tough," Dowhower said the other day from Cape Creek, Ariz., where he is retired from coaching. "A tremendous competitor.

"They asked him to do things that were never asked of a tight end before in Atlanta and that's slam-block 300-pound tackles. And he would do it over and over and over again. Never said a word."

Former Pitt coach Foge Fazio was a linebackers/special teams coach with the Falcons, and he always remembered Whisenhunt's toughness. When Fazio went to the Jets and head coach Bruce Coslett was looking for a tight end, he recommended Whisenhunt, who ended up playing three seasons in New York.

"He was always in there watching film and he knew the playbook inside and out," Fazio said. "He knew everyone on that offense and where they were supposed to be. He knew the pass protections. He knew all that. He knew what everyone was doing."

He still does, mainly because of his job description.

When Whisenhunt replaced the pass-happy Mike Mularkey as offensive coordinator in 2004, the Steelers jumped from No. 31 to No. 2 in rushing in the NFL and became the first AFC team to win 15 games in a regular season. When they needed to win their final four regular-season games last season to make the playoffs -- a streak that ended with the Super Bowl championship -- the Steelers leaned on their running game to average 185 yards rushing in that stretch.

But Whisehunt saved his best for the playoffs, and everyone around the NFL noticed.

The Steelers developed into one of the league's most diverse, explosive and productive offenses, a unit that was maddening to defend because of the big-play ability of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the threat of hammering the opposition with the run. The Steelers averaged nearly 28 points a game in their eight-game winning streak and scored on 13 of 28 possessions in the AFC playoffs.

And, yet, there were specific instances of his artistry:

After falling behind, 10-0 and 17-7, in Cincinnati, he pulled out a gadget play that resulted in a 43-yard touchdown from Roethlisberger to Cedrick Wilson to highlight a 24-point run.

In Indianapolis, he put in a special play to tight end Heath Miller that resulted in a 36-yard completion on the second play of the game, immediately setting the tone for what would be a 21-18 victory.

In the AFC championship game in Denver, Whisenhunt put in two plays he thought could work against the Broncos' defensive scheme, one that resulted in Roethlisberger's pump-fake 12-yard touchdown to Wilson, the other a 12-yard touchdown run by Jerome Bettis that was negated by a penalty.

That stamped him a candidate to be an NFL head coach.

"Nobody knows how someone will do until they're a head coach," Dowhower said. "That's all relative to the team you're with and the people you're able to hire and players you have. But I have no doubts he will be. The results will be based on the types of players he has and the support he has. I think he'll handle the rest."

Grimm: His knowledge of game makes him logical pick

Thursday, January 11, 2007
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Russ Grimm, star quarterback and linebacker in high school, fumed that day Jackie Sherrill told him he would join the ranks of those nameless football players, offensive linemen.

Grimm, a sophomore at Pitt who passed up his dream to go to Linebacker U at Penn State over a perceived snub, was no offensive lineman. He was Dick Butkus, Jack Lambert, Mike Curtis. He punished offensive linemen; now, Sherrill wanted to convert him into one, and a center at that? No way.

"He was ticked off," said Foge Fazio, the assistant coach who recruited Grimm for the Panthers. "He was going to transfer to West Virginia. He was mad and didn't come around to our workouts."

Grimm called Joe Pendry, the assistant coach who recruited him for the Mountaineers. Two days later, Fazio convinced Grimm to attend the Panthers' workout. There, standing before him, was Pendry.

"I talked Jackie into hiring Joe as our offensive line coach," said Fazio, laughing about the scene this week while driving to his winter home in Florida.

Grimm reluctantly accepted the new assignment, something Sherrill says today that he advised him was coming.

"He had growth potential," Sherrill said. "I kept kidding him, 'Russ, you're going from fullback to quarterback to linebacker; you keep eating, you're going to go down' [to offensive line]. Sure enough, he went down."

And up, and up, in weight and stature. Grimm was the center on one of Pitt's great lines in 1979-80 that included tackles Mark May and Jim Covert and guards Emil Boures and Paul Dunn, Grimm's roommate. He then moved to guard after the Redskins drafted him in the third round and became one of the famous Hogs that helped forge three Super Bowl victories in Washington.
Grimm made the NFL's all-1980s team as its first-string guard. Among his Redskins linemates were May and Joe Jacoby.

Today, he's a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Steelers' head-coaching job. It could be a good month for Grimm, 47.

"I hope he gets both, he deserves it," said Joe Bugel, his line coach and mentor in Washington, where Bugel has returned as an assistant. "I always felt he'd be one heck of a football coach. He's super smart -- the guy can make a difference on the sideline with the best of them. He's a leader; guys will follow, and he can kick your butt in a lot of different ways. He'd be good for that football team."

Grimm, a native of Scottdale, Pa., who played at Southmoreland High School, began his coaching career under Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs with the Redskins in 1992, first as tight ends coach and later as offensive line coach under Norv Turner. He joined the Steelers as their offensive line coach in 2001 and added the title of assistant head coach in '04.

He revels in the Hogs image, a down-and-dirty guard who bulldozed the way for Hall of Fame running back John Riggins. Yet, his reputation among those who know him is as a sharp former quarterback who knew every player's assignment and could analyze a defense and what it was trying to do.

"He was probably one of the smartest players I ever played with," said Boures, who also played for the Steelers in the 1980s. "That's saying a lot because I played with a lot of great guys. He was probably the smartest player as far as recognizing film work and the whole bit."

Said Sherrill: "He was very intelligent as a player and very aware because he's played all those positions. The game came easy to him. He moved to offensive line and it was easy for him."

His former teammates and coaches believe his training as a quarterback and linebacker in high school probably helped develop that awareness. When the Redskins once were down to two healthy quarterbacks, Gibbs was asked who his emergency No. 3 would be and he pointed to Grimm.

"Everything he ever tried, he was successful at," said John Bacha, his football coach at Southmoreland, where they named the field after Grimm last year. "He was my best athlete and he was a good quarterback. He was good on rollouts, he'd get on the corner with that 210 pounds and had the option to run or throw."

Grimm also played center on the Southmoreland basketball team and threw the javelin.
"He could have been a four-sport star," Bacha said. "He could have left the track, walked over and hit a baseball out of the park. He was an exceptionally good athlete."

Grimm's reputation as a coach grew quickly once the Steelers hired him. The Chicago Bears were ready to hire him as their head coach in 2004 but Grimm balked when told management would help him pick his staff. Gibbs wanted to hire him as his offensive coordinator when he returned to the Redskins in '04, but Grimm was under contract to the Steelers, who did not want to lose him. They promoted him to assistant head coach.

"He's been our little hidden secret for many years now," Steelers All-Pro guard Alan Faneca said. "He'll make a great head coach."

Grimm, who coached from the sideline with the Steelers, presented the halftime adjustments to the players in the locker room for their offense and worked closely with coordinator Ken Whisenhunt on the game plan.

"When he talks, they'll listen," said Fazio, who coached the 2000 season with Grimm with the Redskins. "A lot of people in the league go to Russ for advice on pass protection. You have to be a bright guy to know all the defenses."

"I know of no better football man," said Dunn, now an assistant on Dave Wannstedt's staff at Pitt. "He's a guy who knows the X's and O's of the game, a guy who can discuss coverages and blitzes and footwork from a technique standpoint of the defensive backs and linebackers, too. His knowledge of the game is superior."

Grimm is known as a teacher, a prankster and someone who can be demanding.

"He's going to teach all day and let you go out and do what you have to do," Faneca said. "He's not the kind of guy to say something just to say something. He's not going to beat a dead horse on the sideline. But he'll let you know when you mess up and he's going to correct it.

"When he first got here, I thought I knew a lot and we were doing complicated things before. But when he got here, that completely changed. Our learning of the game up front just grew tremendously."

Can he crack the whip?

"Are you kidding me?" Boures said. "I know I wouldn't want to be on the other end of it."

Yet after almost every game, Grimm is host to a tailgate party in the Steelers' parking lot for everyone who wants to attend, coaches and players. Many of them did, win or lose.

"That's a good thing for team camaraderie," Faneca said. "Besides being together on the practice field, it was good hanging out time."

Dunn noted that while Bill Cowher was a competitive person, he never met anyone as competitive as Grimm.

"He wants to win in everything he does."

Pitt played in the 1980 Gator Bowl against South Carolina, where Grimm would go up against a good nose tackle, Emanuel Weaver. The late Joe Moore, who coached Grimm at Pitt after Pendry and became close with him the rest of his life, used the kind of psychology that Grimm would later adopt as a coach.

In practices leading up to the Gator Bowl, Moore told both Pitt guards to remind Grimm that they would help him block Weaver on every play.

"That just ticked Russ off," said Boures, one of those guards. "He came to us and said, 'Don't come near me.' "

Pitt mauled South Carolina, 37-9, in no small part because Grimm smothered Weaver -- without help from his guards.

It's that kind of sense of purpose that Grimm brought to coaching.

"He's from the area, grew up in the area, played ball at Pitt," Mark May said. "He's blue-collar. He was hard-nosed and physical and that's the way he's going to coach."

Ron Cook: New coach faces many big decisions

New Steelers coach will have many big decisions to make
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The next Steelers coach will step into a pretty sweet situation. The team, though aging in a few spots and underachieving in a few others this season, has better talent than its 8-8 record.
There's no reason it can't challenge the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North next season, especially if the Ravens end up with a Super Bowl hangover. The Steelers won't turn the ball over 37 times in 2007. Ben Roethlisberger won't throw 23 interceptions. For sure, Big Ben won't be in another motorcycle accident or have a second emergency appendectomy.

But the new man still will have a lot of work to do and plenty of questions to answer.

What to do with linebacker Joey Porter? He didn't have a good year, yet is scheduled to make $5 million next season in the final year of his contract and count $6.6 million against the team's salary cap. Does he get an extension? Do they bring him back for one more year at those big numbers? Do they ask him to take a pay cut? Or do they release him and spend that money elsewhere?

Which of the Steelers' starters do they want to lock up for the long haul? Safety Troy Polamalu, guards Alan Faneca and Kendall Simmons, defensive end Aaron Smith, linebackers Porter and Clark Haggans and fullback Dan Kreider are entering the final year of their contracts in 2007. The time to do new deals is before next season. If the players are allowed to become free agents in '08, they'll likely be gone. Some team will overpay. Remember the Washington Redskins with Antwaan Randle El after last season? The Tennessee Titans with Chris Hope?

What positions do the Steelers target in the NFL draft? The team is not expected to be a big player in free agency, per franchise policy. Help has to come from the draft. Do you want depth on the offensive line, especially with center Jeff Hartings considering retiring? Or at cornerback, where Deshea Townsend is aging and Ike Taylor badly underachieved this season? Or how about outside linebacker, where Porter and Haggans had poor seasons?

The Porter issue will be the sexiest of the offseason. He wasn't happy with his contract this season and considered holding out before being talked out of it by then-coach Bill Cowher. "I definitely feel that I have outplayed the contract that I am under," Porter told the NFL Network at the time. "What I bring to the team ... it's not just me out there playing football. Me being the leader I am and the response I get from my team."

It's hard to imagine Porter agreeing to a pay cut. There's also no way the Steelers give him an extension with a big raise. He'll be 30 in March and his game is based on quickness. He was terrific down the stretch in 2005 -- virtually carrying the Steelers to the Super Bowl with 41/2 sacks in the final four regular-season games and three in the playoffs -- but he didn't have a sack in the final four games this season. His sack total dropped from 101/2 to seven.

Porter probably will be back next season only because the Steelers don't have much depth at his position. But don't be shocked if he's a salary-cap victim.

It's easy to say the Steelers should do new contracts with Polamalu, Faneca and Smith, much harder actually to pull it all off. Baltimore's Ed Reed set a high bar for safeties in the summer with a six-year, $40 million extension, which included a staggering $15 million signing bonus.
Minnesota's Steve Hutchinson established a ridiculously high bar for guards after the 2005 season when he left Seattle as a free agent for a seven-year, $49 million deal, which included $16 million guaranteed. As for Smith, he's already pulling down big dollars; his contract calls for $4.5 million next season, a sizable number for a defensive end who is asked to play the run more than sack the quarterback.

The guess here is the Steelers won't be able to do extensions with all three. It will do what it has to do to keep Polamalu and take its best shots with Faneca and Smith. Hopefully, it will secure one or the other for the long term.

The Steelers should be able to keep Kreider. He'll come at a reasonable salary because there's not much demand for fullbacks in the NFL. Simmons, who lost his starting job for a couple of games this season to Chris Kemoeatu, and Haggans, who turns 30 tomorrow and saw his sacks total drop from nine in '05 to six this season, shouldn't be priorities.

Then, there's the draft.

When a team misses the playoffs, it clearly has needs. The Steelers must look hard at offensive linemen, especially if Hartings retires and it looks as if they can't do an extension with Faneca. It also should consider a cornerback unless it's convinced Taylor can snap out of the funk he sunk into virtually from the day last summer when he signed a $22.5 million contract that included a $6.4 million bonus. But the No. 1 need clearly is at outside linebacker. The defense wasn't nearly as strong this season without Porter and Haggans as serious pass-rushing threats. Picking a pass-rushing linebacker early could ease the sting of losing Porter and/or Haggans.

Memo to the new coach:

No need to say thanks for the free advice.

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 )

Curtain Call

Family, money among factors in Cowher's decision
by Michael Silver
SI.com

Posted: Thursday January 4, 2007 11:07PM;
Updated: Thursday January 4, 2007 11:07PM

Eight Reasons Bill Cowher Is Leaving the Steelers

Frustration with hard-headed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger may be one reason Bill Cowher is stepping down as Steelers coach.

1. The Rooneys don't pay. Sure, Cowher could have gotten a nice extension in Pittsburgh, but he wants to be paid like one of the best coaches in the business and it wasn't going to happen in Pittsburgh.

2. His daughters can ball. Two of Bill's daughters play basketball for Princeton and the third is a high school star in North Carolina. As someone who obsesses over his 10-year-old daughter's soccer games, I can understand why Bill wants to see as many of his kids' games as possible.

3. He's tired. When I saw Cowher this summer riding around St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., on a bike with a built-in motor, I knew his energy level wasn't what it should be.

4. It don't mean a thing if you ain't got that ring. Cowher finally has his, which means no one can ever question his credentials. He can take a step back, reassess and plot his next move.

5. His quarterback was driving him crazy. This may be somewhat of an overstatement, but think about it. Cowher told Ben Roethlisberger to wear a helmet. Ben didn't listen. Think that was the only time that happened?

6. Whiz is leaving. Few coaches have hired such impressive assistants year after year, but Cowher, who knows brainy offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt is about to get a head-coaching job, wouldn't so easily have replaced his gutsy play-caller.

7. The Steelers are done. Well, maybe not done, but this team will have to revamp to compete for another title. Like Tampa Bay in 2002, the '05 Steelers were so drained after years of trying to reach the top, they didn't have another run in them.

8. The Brink's Truck is on his way. All Cowher has to do is sit back, chill, maybe do a little TV, and his value goes up ... and up ... and up ... and up. Meanwhile, owners like Dan Snyder and Jerry Jones will become more and more desperate for a proven winner and master motivator who can take their franchises to the top. Can you say bidding war?

Pride of Pittsburgh: Cowher leaves a legacy of stability

Updated: Jan. 3, 2007

By John Clayton
ESPN.com
Archive

The Steelers are entering a strange, new era, but the knowledge gained during the tenures of Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher put them in a pretty strong position.

Noll turned the Steelers' fortunes in 1969. Before then, they were perennial losers. Art Rooney was a benevolent owner, but the team endured losing season after losing season. They played tough defense but suffered on the scoreboard. With Art's son Dan getting more involved in the late 1960s, he took a chance on one of Don Shula's best and brightest assistants: Chuck Noll. Noll won four Super Bowls and 209 games and made the Steelers a franchise to admire.

Finding someone to follow Noll was tough, but the Rooneys knew what worked. They hired a 35-year-old Bill Cowher in 1992 and watched him grow into the job. It helped that he was a Pittsburgh native. He knew the town. He knew the type of football that would go over with fans and generate excitement.

Most crucially, Cowher bridged a gap for the Steelers which will help the team's new coach. Steelers fans compared the early Cowher teams to the Steel Curtain, which was an impossible comparison. Four-time Super Bowl champions are the exception, not the rule. By establishing an identity of on-the-field success combined with a physical personality, the Steelers have a persona that can translate to the next coach.

Cowher turned unreal expectations of the past into realistic expectations for each season. He taught Steelers fans to accept contending teams instead of believing every year was going to be legendary.

That's why assistant head coach Russ Grimm and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt are two of the most viable candidates to be Cowher's replacement. Like Cowher and Noll, they were assistant coaches with great résumés who understand what it takes to be a winner in Pittsburgh.

Grimm is all Pittsburgh. He went to Pitt and was a star blocker. He went to the Redskins and was the leader of the Hogs, one of the most memorable offensive lines in NFL history. For years, he's been considered one of the top offensive line coaches in football. When Steelers fans worried whether Jeff Hartings could make the conversion from guard to center, Grimm settled him down after a slow start, then watched him develop into a Pro Bowler.

Grimm is the lunchpail type of coach who is no-nonsense. The Bears considered him for a head coaching job. Grimm showed up for his interview wearing a sweater instead of a suit. If a job opens in Cleveland in the next couple of years, he'll be a candidate there if he's not a head coach. If the Steelers hire Grimm, expect them to be a power running team that plays hard on defense. That's Steelers football.

Whisenhunt can be a good sell as Steelers coach because he brings the updated offensive mind. He knows how to call 30 to 40 running plays, but what makes him so attractive is his relationship with Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger is the most talented Steelers quarterback since Terry Bradshaw. He has the arm and he has the toughness to be a great one for a long time.

The Steelers' offense took a little bit of a hit this year because of the retirement of power back Jerome Bettis and the turnovers by Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger convinced Whisenhunt he was ready to carry more passing offense on his shoulders. Together, Whisenhunt and Roethlisberger will probably iron out some of the flaws and become one of more dangerous deep passing teams in the NFL.

Like Cowher, though, Grimm and Whisenhunt offer the perspective of former players who have risen to the top of the coaching circles. Grimm is 47. Whisenhunt is 44. They are young enough to relate to the players and understand the feel of the lockerroom. Cowher had that feel.

Steelers ownership will have to worry about competition. Whisenhunt figures to be one of the main candidates for the Falcons. He's an Atlanta native and his plans for Michael Vick could net him an offer. Grimm is on the lists of a few other teams looking for coaches.

By having Cowher's announcement Friday, the Steelers can try to scramble to talk to a couple of the playoff coaches, maybe Ron Rivera of the Bears, Cam Cameron of the Chargers or others. The Steelers found a bright young coach in Cowher. They might find another in the playoffs. They could also look at Mike Mularkey, the former Bills coach who was Whisenhunt's predecessor as the Steelers offensive coordinator.

The Steelers tradition has great appeal. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has been one of the secret dream candidates of most of the teams looking for coaches in the past few years. Ferentz has made it clear to most: he will only come into the NFL for the right job. Word has gotten back to the Steelers he might be interested, but don't expect him to be a candidate. Still, the former Pittsburgh native might be an option because the chance to be the Steelers coach is one of things that could get him into the NFL.

It's more than likely the Steelers will hire a current NFL assistant. It worked with Noll. It worked with Cowher.

Why mess with more than three decades of success?

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

Mike Prisuta: Cowher Power comes to an end

Mike Prisuta
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, January 5, 2007

Bill Cowher is expected to end his 15-year run as head coach of the Steelers this afternoon.

The Steelers have scheduled a 1 p.m. news conference on the South Side, and the team said it is "Coach Cowher related."

Cowher's assistants were informed Thursday night he will not coach the team in 2007, the final year of his contract.

A source in Pittsburgh said the Steelers have scheduled interviews next week with their top two assistants, offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and assistant head coach/offensive line coach Russ Grimm.

NFL sources speculated the Steelers would interview a minority candidate during the weekend, possibly Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin, in accordance with NFL policy governing the hiring of head coaches.

It is anticipated leaguewide that the Steelers will work quickly to secure Cowher's replacement.
Whisenhunt, 44, interviewed with the Falcons on Thursday in Atlanta. He will interview with the Cardinals today in Arizona and the Miami Dolphins on Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Grimm, 47, is scheduled to interview with the Cardinals on Monday and will interview with the Dolphins.

Whisenhunt could have one to three offers by Sunday night.

Steelers players said they had not received confirmation of Cowher's departure but had been anticipating it since their season-ending interviews with him Monday.

Guard Alan Faneca, one of the Steelers' captains, said Cowher would be missed if the players' suspicions were realized.

"He's been the heart and soul of the team for so long," Faneca said. "We've gone as he's gone.
"We'll have to find a way to keep on going."

Cowher's decision to end his Steelers' tenure ends months of speculation fueled initially when he cryptically characterized his status as "year to year" after the conclusion of the Steelers' offseason program in June.

It was reported in February that Cowher and his wife, Kaye, had purchased a $2.5 million home in Raleigh.

The Cowher saga was heightened when he and the team failed to agree on a contract extension for the first time prior to the opening of training camp in July.

The Steelers had traditionally extended Cowher's contract whenever it had two years remaining.

At the opening of camp in July, Cowher refused to address how his wife and youngest daughter, Lindsay, living in North Carolina might affect his coaching.

Contract negotiations between Cowher and the Steelers broke off in mid-August.

"I guess it's unsettling," Faneca said. "We've been so stable for so long.
"I think there are going to be some new faces here. That's just the way I think this is going."

Cowher, 49, succeeded Chuck Noll as the Steelers head coach on Jan. 21, 1992.

He compiled a regular-season record of 149-90-1 and led the Steelers to the playoffs 10 times in 15 seasons.

The Steelers concluded the 2005 season by beating the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10, in Super Bowl XL.

They finished 8-8 in 2006, the fourth nonwinning season of the Cowher era.

The Crafton native and former linebacker/special teams player with the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles coached his hometown team with a bombastic style and an emotional edge and was embraced almost instantly by fans singing the praises of "Cowher Power."

Cowher was 34 when the Steelers hired him -- two years younger than Noll had been upon taking over in 1969. Cowher inherited a 7-9 team and turned it into an 11-5 division winner in 1992 while earning NFL Coach of the Year honors from The Associated Press.

Cowher's teams captured eight division championships, appeared in six conference championship games and played in two Super Bowls.

Cowher joined Paul Brown as the only coaches in NFL history to lead their teams into the postseason in each of their first six years in the league.

He became the youngest coach to take a team to the Super Bowl when, at 38, he guided the Steelers to Super Bowl XXX at the conclusion of the 1995 season. They lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 27-17.

Cowher's 15 seasons with the Steelers rank ninth in NFL history for continuous service with one team.

He is the NFL's longest-tenured head coach with his current team. Tennessee's Jeff Fisher is second at 13 seasons.

Cowher's career regular-season winning percentage of .632 ranks third among NFL head coaches since 1992 (minimum 50 games), behind the Indianapolis Colts' Tony Dungy (.647) and former Dallas Cowboys' Jimmy Johnson (.635),

Cowher is 13th on the NFL's all-time wins list overall at 161-99-1, one victory behind Washington's Joe Gibbs.

"He'll coach somewhere else," cornerback Ike Taylor said. "No, he ain't done. That's my opinion. The man needs some time. He's been coaching 15 years.

"He's leaving his options open. It don't take a genius to figure it out."

Mike Prisuta can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com.

Cowher is due to resign today, take 1-year off

Steelers will begin search for successor immediately

Friday, January 05, 2007
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Bill Cowher, who led the Steelers to 10 playoff appearances, eight division titles and the fifth Super Bowl title in franchise history, will announce his resignation today after 15 seasons as head coach, sources have told the Post-Gazette.

Cowher and his wife, Kaye, are scheduled to fly to Pittsburgh this morning to attend a 1 p.m. news conference at the team's South Side facility and announce the decision that has been expected for several weeks, if not longer -- that he will resign, at age 49, to spend more time with his family.

"You'll be hearing from me soon enough," Cowher said last night from his home in Raleigh, N.C., where he has spent the past three days. He declined any further comment.

Cowher had planned to return to town and make the announcement Monday. But he called team chairman Dan Rooney -- the man who hired him to replace Chuck Noll in 1992 -- yesterday afternoon to tell him he wasn't going to change his mind and there was no point in delaying the announcement any longer.

Cowher has one year remaining on a contract that paid him between $4.5 million and $4.7 million this season. He said last week he still loves to coach and is not "burned out" from being the longest tenured head coach in the National Football League. He wants to take at least a one-year break from coaching and is not thinking about joining any other team in 2007, whether in the NFL or college football, sources said.

Those same sources also have said Cowher's decision to retire has nothing to do with money and that he is committed to spending the next year with his wife, Kaye, and youngest daughter, Lindsay, in Raleigh.

But those who know Cowher wonder how long he will stay in "retirement" because he is an intense competitor who loves to coach. When his contract with the Steelers expires after 2007, he will be free to sign with another team, without compensation to the Steelers, and likely will attract offers that make him the highest-paid coach in the NFL.

Seattle's Mike Holmgren is believed to be the league's highest-paid coach, making $7 million this season and $8 million in 2007.

The Steelers immediately will begin the search to find his successor. Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, one of the leading candidates to replace Cowher, interviewed yesterday with the Atlanta Falcons and owner Arthur Blank. Offensive line coach Russ Grimm, who is also the team's assistant head coach, is scheduled to interview with the Falcons next week.

The job is attractive to Whisenhunt because he is from Augusta, Ga., played at Georgia Tech and spent four seasons as a tight end with the Falcons. Whisenhunt is also scheduled to interview with the Arizona Cardinals.

Cowher's decision does not come as a surprise because speculation about his future has existed since it was learned in March that he and his wife had purchased a $2.5 million home in Raleigh.
The speculation was fueled more when the Steelers announced during training camp they would discontinue negotiations and would not discuss a contract extension with Cowher until after the season -- a discussion that never had to take place.

Cowher's wife and youngest daughter, Lindsay, have been living in Raleigh since late summer because their daughter wanted to play basketball in North Carolina this year. Like he did with his other two daughters, Meagan and Lauren, who are enrolled at Princeton, Cowher has a desire to spend as much time as possible with Lindsay, 15, while she is in high school.

Sometime after the Steelers won Super Bowl XL, Cowher revealed to some in the organization he was entertaining thoughts of retiring. But those sentiments were heightened when he turned down a contract extension he was offered by team president Art Rooney II, a deal that apparently would have paid Cowher between $6 million and $6.5 million annually in the final years of the contract, according to several people with knowledge of the situation.

Nearly three years ago, Cowher talked about coaching nearly forever. He said he didn't even want to think about stepping down at least until Lindsay graduated from high school. But, he changed his mind quickly in the past year or two.

Cowher, perhaps let on more of his growing feeling about resigning at the NFL meetings in Orlando, Fla., in March.

Asked how long he might coach, Cowher said he wasn't sure. "We tried to just take it one year at a time, and I think at the end of each year you have to sit back and reassess where you are and just make sure you still have the passion for doing it. That's the most important thing.

"You want to be fair to the football team to make sure I can make the fullest commitment to giving everything I have."

(Post-Gazette sports writer Ed Bouchette contributed to this report. )

Bob Smizik: Cowher owes Steelers a quick answer

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.

Dick Hoak retires after 45 years with Steelers

Wednesday, January 03, 2007
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Change was never a big part of Dick Hoak's life.

He has lived in the same split-level house in Hempfield since 1972, driven the same route to work for 34 years, received a paycheck from the same ownership group for 45 years.

In a profession where assistant coaches bounce from one team to another and rarely survive a coaching change, he has remained with the same organization for five decades, both as a player and position coach.

Beginning today, though, life will change.

For the first time since he took a call from Chuck Noll's secretary in 1972, Hoak will no longer have to make the 30-mile drive to work in Pittsburgh.

Hoak, 67, announced his retirement yesterday as the Steelers running backs coach, ending a professional relationship with the team that began as a player in 1961 and evolved into a familial bond with the Rooney family that has lasted almost as long as Bill Cowher has been living.

"I just think it's time," Hoak said. "Some day you guys will feel that way, too. You'll just feel it. You'll know."

Hoak thanked the Rooney family, including the late founder and owner, Art Sr., for letting him stay so long with the organization. After 10 years as a running back with the Steelers, he spent the past 34 years as the team's running backs coach, making him the National Football League's longest-tenured assistant coach.

"I'm really sorry he is going to retire, but I have to say he deserves it," said team chairman Dan Rooney, the only person in the Steelers organization with more seniority than Hoak. "He earned it. His contribution to the Steelers was second to none."

He turned down more lucrative coaching offers from other teams, even other leagues, to remain in Western Pennsylvania and stay with the Steelers. And, despite his constant input and understanding of the offense, he even turned down an opportunity to become an offensive coordinator with the Steelers, preferring to stay out of the limelight and remain in the more anonymous position as running backs coach.

"He was very happy just doing a good job and helping to build a winning team," said Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, who tried to hire Hoak as offensive coordinator when Dungy became head coach in Tampa Bay in 1996.

"He's really blessed to be able to stay in one place, number one, but to have the desire to do it and not feel he has to go someplace else."

Mike Wagner, a former safety from the Super Bowl teams of the 1970s, showed up at Hoak's news conference on the South Side because "I wanted him to know he's important to us old players, even our defensive players."

Hoak began coaching the running backs in 1972, the same year the Steelers drafted Franco Harris in the first round and beat the Oakland Raiders in the famous "Immaculate Reception" playoff game. His final game -- No. 742 as a player and coach -- was Sunday in Cincinnati.

"He's like a perfect coach," Wagner said. "He knew what he wanted to do. He knew what his contributions would be and he was dedicated to it. He found an ideal situation here. It's great the Rooneys recognized that."

Hoak played with Bobby Layne and Ernie Stautner, Terry Bradshaw and Joe Greene, all Hall of Famers. He coached Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis. And he has five Super Bowl rings to show for being the only assistant coach to work under Noll and Bill Cowher.

"It just goes to show there are different ways of getting things done," Hoak said, when asked about the coaching styles of his former bosses. "Bill's more of a motivator, a player's coach. Chuck wasn't as open. He believed that if you were here, you should be able to motivate yourself."

Hoak was a high school star in Jeannette, played running back and quarterback at Penn State and was drafted in the seventh round in 1961 by the Steelers.

The only time he had to leave the state was in 1971, the year after he retired as a player with the Steelers, when he was a coach and gym teacher at Wheeling (W.Va.) Catholic High School. But even that stint was short-lived.
In 1972, he got a call from former Pitt coach Carl DePasqua to work as an assistant coach with the Panthers. A week later, he got a call from Noll's secretary, asking if he was interested in becoming an assistant with the Steelers.

"I set up an interview for Pitt with Carl and for coach Noll the same day," Hoak said. "The first interview was with coach Noll and after I walked out of there, I called Coach DePasqua and told him I was going to take the job with the Steelers and he said I was crazy if I didn't."
He was right.

Pitt went 1-10 in 1972 and DePasqua and his coaching staff were fired.

"So I guess I made the right choice," Hoak said.

Hoak's retirement won't be much different than his professional life because he doesn't plan to venture far from his roots.

"People ask me what are you going to do when you retire and I say, I'm retiring, I'm not going to do anything," Hoak said. "I'm going to take it easy. My wife [Lynn] and I will take a vacation. People say, where you going to move to, and I say, I'm not going to move anywhere. If I want to go somewhere, I'll go there for a week and come back home."

As a player, Hoak led the Steelers in rushing three times (1965, 1968, 1969) and finished as the team's fifth-leading rusher all time with 3,965 yards. He is also seventh all time with 25 rushing touchdowns.

As a coach, he had opportunities to jump to other organizations, even without leaving the city. He was offered the head coach position with the Pittsburgh Maulers of the old United States Football League in 1985, but declined out of loyalty to the Rooneys.

"I just couldn't see myself going across the street to a rival football league in Pittsburgh," Hoak said. "There was no way I could have done that."

In 1996, after the Steelers lost to the Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX, Hoak was the first person Dungy called when he became head coach in Tampa Bay. Like Hoak, Dungy was a former player and assistant coach with the Steelers. Hoak, though, declined the offer to run the Buccaneers' offense.

"There's a saying in football among the assistant coaches: You are hired to be fired," Hoak said. "I've actually beaten the system. I've been hired, but I haven't been fired. That was important to me. That's why I stayed here.

"I had offers. That wasn't important to me. My family was more important to me than that stuff. My kids [daughters Kelly and Katie and son, Rich] all went through the same school system, first through 12th grade. They all went to Penn State, of course. If I needed a doctor, a dentist, a roofer, a new furnace, I knew who to call. ... That was important to me."

(Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1466. )

Porter angling to stay with Steelers

By John Harris
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Bill Cowher and outside linebacker Joey Porter are closer than your typical coach and player.

When Porter addressed the possibility of holding out prior to the season because he wanted to renegotiate his contract, Cowher begged him to report to training camp because he needed his fiery leadership.

Against his better wishes, Porter complied because of his tremendous respect for Cowher.
In the opener against Miami, Porter kissed Cowher on the sideline after returning an interception for a touchdown.

Following Sunday's 23-17 overtime win over Cincinnati, Porter put his relationship with Cowher to the test when he asked Cowher in the locker room if he was leaving.

Even if Cowher leaves after 15 seasons, Porter, 29, insists he wants to finish his career with the team that drafted him. He said it's wrong to assume he doesn't want to remain with the Steelers if Cowher isn't around.

"No matter who the coach is, I play for the Steelers. I'm the type of player I want to start what I finish," Porter said immediately after the game. "I started here, I want to finish here. Give me the opportunity to be a lifelong Steeler."

Following Monday's exit interview with Cowher, Porter re-emphasized his loyalty to the Steelers. He said he doesn't know whether Cowher is coming back, but that Cowher's decision won't impact what he does.

Porter feels like he's done his part. His sack total dipped from 10 1/2 a year ago, when he led all NFL linebackers, to seven, which led the Steelers during a season in which they missed the playoffs after winning Super Bowl XL.

Porter recorded two more tackles this season (63-61) and continued his role as the team's emotional leader.

"At the end of the day, it's going to be up to the organization. I'm here," said Porter, who ranks fourth on the Steelers' all-time list with 60 career sacks. "At the beginning of the season, everyone wants to know, 'Oh, why does he have such a bad attitude?'

"I've never had an attitude toward the Steelers. This is home for me. I knew how it was going to be when I got back, I was going to resume my position as a leader and try to win football games."

Said safety Ryan Clark: "Joey's going to run the team. We're fine with that. He has muscles."

But if Cowher leaves, will the new coach want Porter to assume the same role he had under Cowher? And, if the new coach goes in a different direction, will Porter's role be diminished?

Also, coming off an 8-8 season, will the fiscally conservative Steelers be willing to pay Porter more than $6.1 million in 2007 in the final year of his contract -- making him one of the team's highest-paid players -- or will he be asked to renegotiate his contract, or even be forced to take a pay cut if he wants to remain with the Steelers?

"It is a business, and just like everybody else I've got to make the right business move for my family," Porter said. "It's something that comes with the business, and if you have an opportunity which I feel like you should have, what's the difference of making me wait another year? If I mean that much to you, like I think I should, go ahead and take care of me, make it happen."

Porter's contract situation could develop into one of the biggest stories in the offseason.

Offensive tackle Max Starks, a restricted free agent, is the only player whom the Steelers have to tender an offer or risk losing without receiving compensation.

Remember, the Steelers aren't obligated to address Porter's contract until after next season.
Unless redoing Porter's deal is beneficial to everyone.

After speaking with Cowher yesterday, Porter compared his contract situation with that of his coach. Porter didn't say whether he discussed his contract with Cowher.

"That's like coach Cowher's decision," Porter said. "I can't give you that answer right now. I don't know when, but that time will come. Until it comes, my address isn't going to change. I'm going to be where I'm supposed to be. I'm not going nowhere."

Given what happened last year prior to training camp -- especially if Cowher doesn't return for a 16th season with Porter as his team leader -- Porter's uncertain contract future with the Steelers could test his loyalty and management's patience.

John Harris is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jharris@tribweb.com