Former Steelers Coach Bill Cowher Will Coach…. in 2018?
Cowher wants to coach again, but not until 2018 or later. Will he still be relevant by then after being out of the league for over a decade?
I love me some Coach Cowher. Man, give me that surly look, that big ol’ chin sticking out a foot from the rest of his face, and showers of angry spit flying any day over Mike Tomlin (no disrespect to Tomlin). Even with six full seasons with Tomlin at the helm, things still just don’t feel right with Cowher gone. Ever since Cowher left the Steelers and took up his current gig in the CBS studios, there’s always been speculation of when he might return to the sidelines and lead another team to the same kind of glory he did for the Steelers for 15 seasons.
Well Cowher fans and fans of big chins will finally get their dose of the sweet ‘stache and spit filled verbal assaults on Sundays…. in 2018.
During a promotional event on Tuesday for CBS covering the Super Bowl, Cowher told Newsday that he wants to coach again. Well, aside from here at NPC, just about every NFL or Steeler site out there lit up with talk of where he might go and that this season is ripe with opportunity with so many coaching positions waiting to be filled. The realist in me knew that he wasn’t going to return in 2013 – so I decided not to write about it.
On Wednesday, the PPG reported that Cowher does not intend to coach for another 4-5 seasons. That makes his return to coaching (were a spot open for him) somewhere around 2017/2018. Maybe he’ll coach the newly relocated Las Vegas Rollers (formerly the Buffalo Bills) in 2017? Or perhaps the expansion Omaha Soybeans might be Cowher’s new home in 2018?
With a coach like Cowher, the possibilities quite frankly are limitless. The Big Tuna of his time in the 90’s, Cowher could have the pick of the litter for whatever coaching gig is up for grabs. But is more than ten seasons away from the NFL (at least in a coaching capacity) a bit of a gamble for a team looking to nab Cowher?
Sure, Cowher’s been ‘keeping up’ by commentating on CBS, but will he have ‘lost his touch’ when it comes time to leading a team once again? It’s tough to really say, I think. Some coaches have shorter hiatuses and have limited success. I mentioned The Big Tuna just a moment ago. Bill Parcells retired in 1990 and took two years off. He returned to the Patriots for four seasons with a 32-32 record then to the Jets for three seasons with a 27-19 record. He retired a second time then came back to coach the Cowboys from 2003-2006 and went 34-30. He had a single Super Bowl appearance with New England and lost to the Packers. Seemed each time he moved on or came back from retirement that second time that things got a little worse for him.
Cowher, like I think Parcells did, could find himself having a harder time coaching players in a league that keeps evolving. But, we’ll see if the privileged and entitled youth of today’s college and high school players will respond well to a coach like Bill Cowher. Then again he could pick up right where he left off with the right team and personnel in place and get to the playoffs and Super Bowl early and often.
What do you all think?