You'll be sorry

By John Gottlieb

I think Bill Cowher has had just a bit too much egg nog. Cowher, who had the distinction of taking over the Steelers when Chuck Noll retired at the end of 1992, is about to walk away from one of the greatest jobs in the National Football League.

As of this afternoon, Cowher will no longer be the longest tenured coach in the NFL, he will just be an unemployed coach that won a Super Bowl one year ago. Bill, it's not too late to change your mind. Call off the press conference.

Cowher, who grew up just outside of Pittsburgh, has been with the Steelers for 15 years, compiling a 161-99-1 record, including the playoffs, which is fourth among active head coaches.

Two, three, four years from now you'll regret the decision you made on January 5, 2007. Much like Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Joe Gibbs, Mike Ditka and Dick Vermeil you're a football coach Bill.

I guarantee that after the teary goodbyes and appreciation heaped upon the Rooneys this afternoon you will not have seen the end of Cowher roaming the sidelines in the NFL.

He's a football coach, it's in his blood. Much like Arnold Schwarzenegger, he'll be back. Despite his pedestrian record in the postseason (12-9) I'm sure the Dolphins, Falcons, Raiders and Cardinals have all made some sort of inquiry about Cowher's availability for their head coaching vacancies.

Bill you'll never get a job as good as the one you have.

This is not a revelation, but only bad teams get rid of their head coaches. Yes, occasionally good coaches leave good teams, but those jobs are few and far between.

Just like NFL players, the shelf life of an NFL coach is not very long, and Cowher was lucky enough to land a job with dedicated owners who gave him the reigns without constant interference.

Cowher is better to sign a two or three-year contract extension and stick with the Steelers until he's completely burned out. He's got a talented team that didn't live up to the expectations that come with winning a Super Bowl.

His quarterback clearly had a rough year on and off the field, but Pittsburgh still has Willie Parker, Troy Polamalu, Joey Porter, James Farrior, Hines Ward, Casey Hampton, Alan Faneca and a host of other good players.

If Ben Roethlisberger had worn a helmet on his motorcycle or hadn't had an emergency appendectomy, this team makes the playoffs and we all know what they did last year as the sixth-seed.

This team can contend for the Super Bowl for the next few years and probably win another one, solidifying Cowher's berth in the Hall of Fame. One Super Bowl proves he's a good coach, two and he gets a bust in Canton.

Cowher has had only three losing seasons, but let's not forget that his teams have come up short in four AFC title games, losing to a San Diego team that was headed by Stan Humphries in 1994, to Denver in 1997 and a pair to New England.

Where is Cowher going to go to find a team with this many weapons? He'll join one of the networks and try his hand at a pregame show or as a color man, which will still keep him away from his family for half the week, but eventually he will return to coach another team. He's only 49 years old.

And when he does return, Cowher will most likely have to take a job with one of the NFL's bottom rungs, like the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals or Detroit Lions and start from scratch. If Bill needs time away from the game now, how long do you think he'll be able to stick around to rebuild a doormat? Unless another dream job falls into his lap, Cowher has coached in his last Super Bowl.

Go into Dan Rooney's office, tell him the holidays and the strenuous season made you take leave of your senses and that you want to come back for the final year of your contract. It's not too late Bill. You're about to commit coaching suicide.

You can still change your mind, it's your legacy.


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Copyright 2007
The Phanatic