No Steeler Playoffs and Now No Cowher
What a disappointing feeling it is to watch the playoffs and have it driven home that the Pittsburgh Steelers followed up winning the Super Bowl with an 8-8 season and are home for the playoffs. Now to add to that sad feeling we have the resignation of Bill Cowher as head coach after fifteen years.
It is hard to fault Cowher for wanting to spend time with his family and take a break from a harsh and time consuming profession. Fifteen years is a long time to coach one team in the NFL. And once he had achieved his dream and brought another Lombardi Trophy to the city he was born and raised in, why not take some time off and spend it with your family.
But there is a sense of frustration that Cowher is leaving on a down note and that the Steelers will suffer as a result. There is a sense of the unknown. There have only been two Steelers coaches in my lifetime: Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. It is weird to think about having a new coach for the team I have cheered for my whole life. Weirder yet would be to see Cowher come back and coach another team. The taint of wanting more money down the line also hangs in the air.
Last year's Super Bowl colors everything. Cowher has always been a tough and successful (.619 winning percentage, 10 trips to the playoffs, Super Bowl win, etc.) coach but much of the tenure has been frustrating. Four AFC Championship losses at home. The Super Bowl loss to the Cowboys. Finally winning the big one meant a lot psychologically no matter what people say (the whiners who want to put some kind of asterisk next to it) or the disappointment of this year. Cowher is not the legend that is Chuck Noll but he was my guy and a big part of the Steelers, and I am sad to see him go.
One would have to think that the Steelers job is a pretty nice opportunity. Stable organization, history of winning, solid core team already on the roster, etc. It will be interesting to see if the Rooney's decided to go for a leader from outside of the organization or whether they will promote either Russ Grimm or Ken Whisenhunt. Part of me would like to see the stability and offensive continuity of these assistant coaches but another part of me would like to see someone with a different personality; some leadership and charisma. It would be interesting to see if a fresh perspective and style might bring a spark to the team.
No matter what happens I wish Coach Cowher all the best in whatever he chooses to do. He has brought an awful lot of joy to my life, and plenty of pain I must confess, and he led the Steelers with toughness and class. Hard to ask for more.
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