Cowher is back in front of the mics once again. But this time it's to address something that you can't see.Credit: US PRESSWIRE

Former Steelers head coach, Bill Cowher, could be a spokesperson or salesman for just about anything you could think of.  It wouldn’t be because of a twinkle in his eye, or that white toothy grin, or a slight raise of his right eyebrow as he tells you how nice it is to see you.  Oh no.  It’s the sticks out so far he could poke you in the chest with it jaw.

This time around, Cowher is taking that stare and jaw to the streets as he is becoming a spokesperson for melanoma awareness – specifically in men.  Most of you in Steeler Nation should know that already that Bill Cowher’s wife passed away back in 2010 from the awful skin cancer known as melanoma.  And as most people who are touched by a certain kind of tragedy want to do – Cowher wants to educate men of the disease.

‘Men are naive to their bodies.  They don’t pay attention to their skin like women do.’

It’s true.  How many guys out there really pay attention to how much sun they are getting when outdoors?  Even in this age of heightened awareness of the damages over-exposure the sun can have in the long term on our bodies, us guys just don’t really give those things a second thought.  And then there’s your ‘fake bakers.’  My cousin has contracted melanoma because he baked at least once a week for years.  Now he will have to deal with this for a long time, and it could end up killing him.  It’s a very serious disease, and advocates for prevention have a great ally in their corner with Cowher.

I doubt he’ll be doing any of his classic sideline grab a player by the facemask, stick out the jaw, and yell – all the while soaking the player with about a gallon of venomous spit.  I’m sure he’ll take a gentler approach.  It’s unclear right now what his exact role will be – tour around the US to schools and other organizations, or just a billboard of the Super Bowl champion coach holding up a football and lettering underneath him that says, ‘It’s time to tackle melanoma!’

All kidding aside, I hope it really is the former and not the latter.  I could see his participation being just billboard slogans, but I hope it’s far more than that.  Cowher is the kind of coach and man that could really make a difference if he goes out there to the masses.  He usually doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, but you know exactly when he is being sincere.  You can just see it in those eyes.  Kaye’s story is a powerful one, and Cowher being the powerful speaker he is, could give a much needed wakeup call to those of us who don’t think about our skin.

There was another article about Cowher posted today on ESPN that detailed comments Boomer ‘Whiny’ Esiason  gave about where he could see Cowher coaching.

“The only two coaching spots that I think that he would ever come out of retirement for … one would be the New York Giants and the other one would be the Chicago Bears, because he’s that type of guy”

That’s right Boom Boom.  He’s that kind of guy.  A class act and a powerful personality.  However, I don’t think we’ll ever see him coach on the sidelines ever again.  If this spokesmanship is the real deal, then I could see him being an analyst by day and night light as someone who will probably make it part of his life’s duty not to let Kaye’s death be something that happened in vain.

Best of luck to Coach Cowher.  A great coach and an even classier man.  I hope he can change many lives by going out there helping to prevent this terrible cancer.

Kaye Cowher, wife of legendary Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, passed away Friday after a lengthy battle with skin cancer.  She was 54.

Steeler Nation probably best remembers Kaye from the frequent shots of her cheering from a private box during one of Bill’s numerous playoff games.  My most vivid memory of her comes from the History of the Pittsburgh Steelers DVD.  If you’ve ever seen it or any NFL Films production which deals with Super Bowl XXX, you’ll know what I’m talking about.  The cameras follow Bill walking off the field following the Steelers crushing defeat by the Cowboys.  At the tunnel, he encounters a crestfallen Kaye and his daughter Meagan, who has tears in her eyes.  “You can’t win ‘em all,” he reassures them as he smiles and hugs them both.

That’s one of my favorite Cowher moments because he was just doing what almost every other husband/father in the world does.  He was obviously devastated by the loss but he sucked it up and put on an act because consoling the family was more important than how he was feeling.

Meagan went on to play basketball in college, as did her two sisters.  They were following in their mother’s footsteps.   Kaye was a power forward at North Carolina State, where her and Bill met, and then played professionally in the defunct Woman’s Pro Basketball League.   Kaye had a twin sister and to promote the league they appeared in commercials for Doublemint Gum.

As the name of this blog implies, I’m a huge Bill Cowher fan.  I don’t know if anybody else was aware of Kaye’s battle with skin cancer but this news caught me completely by surprise.  For the past three years, NFL teams have thrown millions and millions of dollars at Bill trying to lure him out of retirement.  This is idle speculation but I’m now thinking the reason he repeatedly turned them down may have something to do with his wife’s condition.  If that is the case, he’s earned even more of my respect.

My deepest condolences go out to Bill, Meagan, Lauren, and Lindsay Cowher on the loss of their wife and mother.  On behalf of Steeler Nation, our prayers are with you.