- Bill Cowher
-
Bill Cowher 
Position(s)
Head Coach
LinebackerJersey #(s)
53Born May 8, 1957
Crafton, PennsylvaniaCareer information Year(s) 1980–2006 Undrafted in 1979 College North Carolina State Professional teams Playing career
- Philadelphia Eagles (1979)
- Cleveland Browns (1980–1982)
- Philadelphia Eagles (1983–1984)
Coaching career
- Cleveland Browns (1985–1986)
(Special teams) - Cleveland Browns (1987–1988)
(Secondary) - Kansas City Chiefs (1989–1991)
(Defensive coordinator) - Pittsburgh Steelers (1992–2006)
(head coach)
Career stats Win-Loss Record 149–90–1 Winning % .623 Games 240 Stats at NFL.com Coaching stats at pro-football-reference.com Career highlights and awards - Super Bowl XL victory (2005)
- 2 AFC Championship victories (1995, 2005)
- AP NFL Coach of the Year (1992)
- 2× Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (1992, 2004)
- 149–90–1 (regular season record)
- 12–9 (playoff record)
- 161–99–1 (overall record)
William Laird "Bill" Cowher (born May 8, 1957) is a former American football coach and player. Cowher resigned after 15 seasons as the Steelers' coach on January 5, 2007, 11 months to the day after winning 2005–06's Super Bowl XL. He currently is a studio analyst for The NFL Today.
Contents
Early life
Born in Crafton, Pennsylvania, Cowher excelled in football, basketball, and track for Carlynton High in Crafton, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At North Carolina State University, Cowher was a starting linebacker, team captain, and team MVP in his senior year. He graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in education.
Professional career
He began his NFL career as a player. He was a free-agent linebacker with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1979, and then signed with the Cleveland Browns the following year. Cowher played three seasons (1980–82) in Cleveland, making him a member of the Kardiac Kids, before being traded back to the Eagles, where he played two more years (1983–84). His tenure in Philadelphia included tackling a young Jeff Fisher (who later became the head coach of the Tennessee Titans) when playing against the Chicago Bears, causing Fisher to injure his ankle and prematurely ending his playing career.[1] The two would later be rival head coaches and friends in the AFC Central, and Fisher has credited his injury at the hands of Cowher having the unintended consequence to get into coaching.
Cowher primarily played special teams during his playing career, and placed emphasis on special teams during his coaching career. Cowher credits being a "bubble player" during his playing career to influence him on his coaching career, feeling that such players work the hardest for a roster spot (and sometimes still get cut, hence the term "bubble player"), and thus make better head coaches than those with successful playing careers.
Coaching career
Cowher began his coaching career in 1985 at age 28 under Marty Schottenheimer with the Cleveland Browns. He was the Browns' special teams coach in 1985–86 and secondary coach in 1987–88 before following Schottenheimer to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1989 as defensive coordinator.
He became the fifteenth head coach in Steelers history when he succeeded Chuck Noll on January 21, 1992 – but only the second head coach since the NFL merger in 1970. Under Cowher, the Steelers showed an immediate improvement from the disappointing 7–9 season the year before, going 11–5 and earning home field advantage in the AFC after the Steelers had missed the playoffs six times out of the previous seven years. In 1995, at age 38, he became the youngest coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl. Cowher is only the second coach in NFL history to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons as head coach, joining Pro Football Hall of Fame member Paul Brown.
In Cowher’s 15 seasons, the Steelers captured eight division titles, earned ten postseason playoff berths, played in 21 playoff games, advanced to six AFC Championship games and made two Super Bowl appearances. He is one of only six coaches in NFL history to claim at least seven division titles. It has become an article of faith among NFL pundits that the Steelers do not have a bad team two years in a row – they have never lost 10 or more games in consecutive years since the 1970 NFL merger. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers had the best record of any team in the National Football League since Cowher was hired as head coach.
On February 5, 2006, Cowher's Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XL by defeating the Seattle Seahawks 21–10, giving Cowher his first Super Bowl ring. Through the Super Bowl, Cowher's team had compiled a record of 108–1–1 in games in which they built a lead of at least eleven points.[2]
During the following season, there was talk about Cowher leaving the Steelers, ostensibly to spend more time with his family. On January 5, 2007, Cowher stepped down after 15 years at the helm of the franchise. The Steelers hired former Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin as Cowher's successor.
Cowher's record as a head coach is 149–90–1 (161–99–1 including playoff games).
After Pittsburgh
On February 15, 2007, he signed on to The NFL Today on CBS as a studio analyst, joining Dan Marino, Shannon Sharpe, and Boomer Esiason.
On April 28, 2007, Cowher's remaining Pittsburgh belongings were to be auctioned off to the public. Only two items with Steeler logos were available for sale.[3]
In 2007, Cowher appeared in the ABC reality television series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, featuring a dozen celebrities in a stock car racing competition. Cowher matched up against Gabrielle Reece and William Shatner.
On March 4, 2008, Cowher responded to rumours concerning his coaching future by stating, "I'm not going anywhere."[4] The Cowhers placed their Raleigh, North Carolina home on the market, with the intention of building a new house two miles away.
Putting an end to numerous unfounded rumors of his return to coaching in the NFL in 2009, Cowher stated on The NFL Today that he did not plan to coach again in the immediate future.[5]
Cowher reportedly has a part in the movie The Dark Knight Rises which was filmed recently at Heinz Field in downtown Pittsburgh. He plays the head coach of the Gotham Rogues.[6]
Coaching tree
Cowher challenges a play
Assistant coaches under Bill Cowher that became Head Coaches in the NFL:
Dom Capers (Carolina Panthers/Houston Texans)
Chan Gailey (Dallas Cowboys/Buffalo Bills)
Jim Haslett (New Orleans Saints/St. Louis Rams)
Mike Mularkey (Buffalo Bills)
Ken Whisenhunt (Arizona Cardinals)
Dick LeBeau (Cincinnati Bengals)
Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals)Family
Bill Cowher's late wife, Kaye (née Young), also a North Carolina State University graduate, played professional basketball for the New York Stars of the (now defunct) Women's Pro Basketball League with her twin sister Faye. Kaye was featured in the book Mad Seasons: The Story of the First Women's Professional Basketball League, 1978–1981, by Karra Porter (University of Nebraska Press, 2006).
Kaye Cowher died of skin cancer at age 54 on July 23, 2010.
Bill and Kaye have three daughters. Daughters, Meagan and Lauren, played basketball at Princeton University. Their third daughter Lindsay played basketball at Wofford College before transferring to Elon University.[7] In 2007, the Cowher family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina from suburban Pittsburgh (Fox Chapel). Meaghan Cowher is engaged to Los Angeles Kings forward, Kevin Westgarth. [8]
Endorsements
Cowher is under an exclusive autograph contract with the Mounted Memories company of Florida. Cowher was also on the cover of EA Sports' 2006 video game NFL Head Coach.
Head coaching record
Team Year Regular Season Post Season Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result PIT 1992 11 5 0 .688 1st in AFC Central 0 1 .000 Lost to Buffalo Bills in AFC Divisional Game. PIT 1993 9 7 0 .563 2nd in AFC Central 0 1 .000 Lost to Kansas City Chiefs in AFC Wild-Card Game. PIT 1994 12 4 0 .750 1st in AFC Central 1 1 .500 Lost to San Diego Chargers in AFC Championship Game. PIT 1995 11 5 0 .688 1st in AFC Central 2 1 .667 Lost to Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. PIT 1996 10 6 0 .625 1st in AFC Central 1 1 .500 Lost to New England Patriots in AFC Divisional Game. PIT 1997 11 5 0 .688 1st in AFC Central 1 1 .500 Lost to Denver Broncos in AFC Championship Game. PIT 1998 7 9 0 .438 3rd in AFC Central – – – – PIT 1999 6 10 0 .375 4th in AFC Central – – – – PIT 2000 9 7 0 .563 3rd in AFC Central – – – – PIT 2001 13 3 0 .812 1st in AFC Central 1 1 .500 Lost to New England Patriots in AFC Championship Game. PIT 2002 10 5 1 .656 1st in AFC North 1 1 .500 Lost to Tennessee Titans in AFC Divisional Game. PIT 2003 6 10 0 .375 3rd in AFC North – – – – PIT 2004 15 1 0 .938 1st in AFC North 1 1 .500 Lost to New England Patriots in AFC Championship Game. PIT 2005 11 5 0 .688 2nd in AFC North 4 0 1.000 Super Bowl XL Champions. PIT 2006 8 8 0 .500 3rd in AFC North – – – – PIT Total 149 90 1 .623 12 9 .571 Total[9] 149 90 1 .623 12 9 .571 Coaching record vs. other teams
How the Steelers fared in games with Cowher as head coach.
Team Wins Losses Ties Win Pct. Arizona Cardinals 2 1 0 0.667 Atlanta Falcons 3 1 1 0.700[a] Baltimore Ravens 13 9 0 0.591 Buffalo Bills 5 2 0 0.714 Carolina Panthers 3 1 0 0.750 Chicago Bears 3 1 0 0.750 Cincinnati Bengals 21 9 0 0.700 Cleveland Browns 19 5 0 0.792 Dallas Cowboys 1 2 0 0.333 Denver Broncos 1 3 0 0.250 Detroit Lions 4 1 0 0.800 Green Bay Packers 2 2 0 0.500 Houston Texans 1 1 0 0.500 Indianapolis Colts 4 1 0 0.800 Jacksonville Jaguars 8 10 0 0.444 Kansas City Chiefs 5 3 0 0.625 Miami Dolphins 5 2 0 0.714 Minnesota Vikings 2 2 0 0.500 New England Patriots 4 3 0 0.571 New Orleans Saints 2 1 0 0.667 New York Giants 2 1 0 0.667 New York Jets 4 1 0 0.800 Oakland Raiders 5 2 0 0.714 Philadelphia Eagles 2 2 0 0.500 St. Louis Rams 1 2 0 0.333 San Diego Chargers 7 2 0 0.778 San Francisco 49ers 1 3 0 0.250 Seattle Seahawks 2 4 0 0.333 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 1 0 0.750 Tennessee Titans 11 12 0 0.478 Washington Redskins 3 0 0 1.000 Totals: 149 90 1 0.623[a] Note:
- a For the purposes of calculating winning percentage ties are counted as ½ of a win and ½ of a loss
Coaching record vs. other teams (playoffs)
How the Steelers fared in playoff games with Cowher as head coach.
Team Wins Losses Win Pct. Baltimore Ravens 1 0 1.000 Buffalo Bills 1 1 0.500 Cincinnati Bengals 1 0 1.000 Cleveland Browns 2 0 1.000 Dallas Cowboys 0 1 0.000 Denver Broncos 1 1 0.500 Indianapolis Colts 3 0 1.000 Kansas City Chiefs 0 1 0.000 New England Patriots 1 3 0.250 New York Jets 1 0 1.000 San Diego Chargers 0 1 0.000 Seattle Seahawks 1 0 1.000 Tennessee Titans 0 1 0.000 Totals: 12 9 0.571 See also
Notes and references
- ^ NFL on CBS Halftime Show, Interview, January 5, 2008
- ^ Collier, Gene (February 6, 2006). "Taylor's interception clips Seahawk's wings". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=brINAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NnIDAAAAIBAJ&dq=ike-taylor&pg=4176%2C4057270. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
- ^ Going Once, Going Twice...Chin! I Mean, Sold! Mondesishouse.com. Accessed September 8, 2007.
- ^ Bouchette, Ed (2008-03-05). "Cowhers will move, but not to Penn State". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08065/862482-66.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
- ^ "Cowher Doesn't Plan on Coaching in 2009". TSN. 2009-01-04. http://www.tsn.ca/nfl/story/?id=261929&lid=sublink05&lpos=headlines_main. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ http://my.spill.com/profiles/blog/show?id=947994:BlogPost:3851482
- ^ Kaye Cowher dies from skin cancer WRALsportsfan.com Accessed July 24, 2010
- ^ Bill Cowher's daughter to wed NHL enforcer Postmedia News Accessed September 29, 2011
- ^ Bill Cowher Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks – Pro-Football-Reference.com
External links
- Coaching Stats at profootballreference.com
- LB/Playing Stats at databasefootball.com
- Coaching Stats at databasefootball.com
- Video clip of Bill Cowher announcing his resignation as Steelers' head coach
- Bill Cowher is the Head Coach of Quick Hit Football
Sporting positions Preceded by
Rod RustKansas City Chiefs Defensive Coordinator
1989–1991Succeeded by
Dave AdolphAwards and achievements Preceded by
Bill BelichickSuper Bowl Winning Head Coaches
Super Bowl XL, 2005Succeeded by
Tony DungyPittsburgh Pirates / Steelers head coaches Forrest Douds (1933) • Luby DiMeolo (1934) • Joe Bach (1935–1936) • John McNally (1937–1939) • Walt Kiesling (1939–1940) • Bert Bell (1941) • Aldo Donelli (1941) • Walt Kiesling (1941–1942) • No team (1943–1944) • Jim Leonard (1945) • Jock Sutherland (1946–1947) • John Michelosen (1949–1951) • Joe Bach (1952–1953) • Walt Kiesling (1954–1956) • Buddy Parker (1957–1964) • Mike Nixon (1965) • Bill Austin (1966–1968) • Chuck Noll (1969–1991) • Bill Cowher (1992–2006) • Mike Tomlin (2007– )
The NFL Today team Current Former Marcus Allen • Terry Bradshaw • Dick Butkus • Irv Cross • Randy Cross • Mike Ditka • Phyllis George • Jerry Glanville • Greg Gumbel • Craig James • Brent Jones • Jayne Kennedy • Michael Lombardi • Will McDonough • Brent Musburger • Jim Nantz • Pat O'Brien • Deion Sanders • George Seifert • Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder • Lesley VisserCBS Sports • NFL on CBS • The NFL Today • List of NFL Today personalities NFL Coach of the Year Award from the Associated Press 1957: Wilson | 1958: Ewbank | 1959: Lombardi | 1960: Shaw | 1961: Sherman | 1962: Sherman | 1963: Halas | 1964: Shula | 1965: Halas | 1966: Landry | 1967: Allen & Shula | 1968: Shula | 1969: Grant | 1970: Nolan | 1971: Allen | 1972: Shula | 1973: Knox | 1974: Coryell | 1975: Marchibroda | 1976: Gregg | 1977: Miller | 1978: Patera | 1979: Pardee | 1980: Knox | 1981: Walsh | 1982: Gibbs | 1983: Gibbs | 1984: Knox | 1985: Ditka | 1986: Parcells | 1987: Mora | 1988: Ditka | 1989: Infante | 1990: Johnson | 1991: Fontes | 1992: Cowher | 1993: Reeves | 1994: Parcells | 1995: Rhodes | 1996: Capers | 1997: Fassel | 1998: Reeves | 1999: Vermeil | 2000: Haslett | 2001: Jauron | 2002: Reid | 2003: Belichick | 2004: Schottenheimer | 2005: Smith | 2006: Payton | 2007: Belichick | 2008: M. Smith | 2009: Lewis | 2010: BelichickCategories:- 1957 births
- Living people
- National Football League defensive coordinators
- American football linebackers
- Players of American football from Pennsylvania
- Cleveland Browns coaches
- Cleveland Browns players
- Kansas City Chiefs coaches
- NC State Wolfpack football players
- Philadelphia Eagles players
- Pittsburgh Steelers head coaches
- People from Raleigh, North Carolina
- National Football League announcers
- North Carolina State University alumni
- Undrafted National Football League players
- Sportspeople from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
