Haslam (left) with Rooney (right). Courtesy CBSsports.com

Ever wonder what it would be like to be a Steelers fan and own a different franchise?  Yeah me neither, but it could be a reality real soon.  Randy Lerner, lead stake holder in the Cleveland Browns since their rebirth in 1999, wants to give up controlling interest of the team.  Who’s at the top of the list of interest in buying the team from Lerner – a Steelers fan.

Not just any Steelers fan either – one who is self-described as being a ’1,000% ‘ Steelers fan and a minority owner of the same organization.  Jimmy Haslam, president and CEO of the Pilot J truck stops across the U.S. has begun talks with Lerner to acquire controlling stake of the Browns.  The main concern from the Browns and team president Mike Holmgren is to keep the Browns in Cleveland.  And why wouldn’t Haslam keep the Browns in Cleveland?  There’s no chance of redrawing the division lines, and the Steelers (and Bengals and Ravens) love kicking around one of the worst teams in the NFL.  Why acquire the team and then move them and risk taking two wins away from your beloved Black & Gold.  Ok, maybe moving them to L.A. would be more profitable.  But, who cares about profit when you are a ’1,000%’ Steelers fan?

Whether or not Browns fans will be at all thrilled if this transaction goes through is unclear.  Pretty much any citizen of the Dawg Pound disliked Lerner for his aloof approach when controlling the team.  Maybe they’ll think, ‘Well if the team’s still going to be in the shitter, at least it’s because the owner is trying to make that happen.’  I’m not really for this kind of thing.  Even if Haslam’s intentions are genuine and just wants to make money, you kind of want any and all members of your opposition to be fans of their own team – let alone have any stake in a rival organization.  Obviously, he would lose his stake in the Steelers.  It’s all in the spirit of competition.

More details are sure to unfold as the discussion continue and as the league begins to oversee everything.  LaCanfora released details today that the deal could be as much as $900 million (but less than $1 billion).

What are your thoughts on a Steelers fan owning the Cleveland Browns?

From SI.com and Getty images

Not according to Mike Holmgren.  Peter King in his Monday Morning Quarterback column on SI.com reports Mike Holmgren, Cleveland Brown team President, says Cowher,  ”wasn’t ready to come back and he was very honest about it.”

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The Cleveland Browns improved upon their pathetic total of four wins in 2008 by winning a whopping five games last year.  Baby steps, I guess.  They did, however, win their last four games in a row highlighted by one of the most embarrassing losses in Pittsburgh Steelers history, a 13-6 debacle on a frigid Thursday night.  Following the season, the front office was cleared out with Mike Holmgren being brought in to resurrect yet another franchise.  Coo Coo g’ joo.

STEELERS DEFENSE vs. BROWNS OFFENSE

Poor poor Colt McCoy.  He was on the verge of being cut during the preseason, but due to high ankle sprains to both Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme, he’s starting this week.  I’m sure it’s his dream to start an NFL game but that should quickly turn into a nightmare by about, oh, half past one.   They say that which doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

The Steelers defense will put this theory to the test.

The Browns ranked last in the league in offense last year.  This year, they’ve risen all the way up to 25th.  About the only area of strength on this team is their offensive line.  C Alex Mack and LT Joe Thomas are Pro Bowl caliber.  Their studliness no doubt contributed to RB Peyton Hillis running wild on the Ravens defense a couple weeks back.  Unfortunately, he’s battling a strained quadriceps and is questionable.

Not that it matters since the Steelers aren’t giving up anything on the ground to anybody.  Running the ball isn’t going to work and considering they only have one halfway decent receiver, I don’t foresee passing being much of an option either.  Nope, if the Browns hope to score, their offensive game plan boils down to one thing:

Get the ball to Josh Cribbs.

For those who remember that Thursday night game, Cribbs was an absolute Steeler Killer.  He returns kicks, he runs the Wildcat, and he plays receiver.   He’s a multi-purpose threat that needs to be accounted for on every play.  He’s far and away the Browns best offensive weapon.  Contain him and everything else will fall into place.

STEELERS OFFENSE vs. BROWNS DEFENSE

The Browns ranked 31st in defense last year, 28th against the run and 29th against the pass.  So they gave defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, Rex’s brother, some new toys by going secondary with their first two picks in the draft.  This has led to an improvement as they now rank 18th in pass defense, although they’re still 21st in total D.  Again, baby steps.

But let’s forget about the Browns as they’re nothing more than a bug on the Black and Gold’s windshield.  I’m more interested in talking about the Steelers offense.   The Steelers are averaging 136 pass yards per game and are currently last in the NFL in total offense.   All that is about to change.

Ben Roethlisberger returns from his ridiculous unwarranted suspension.   Last year, the Steelers produced an epic offensive performance.  They featured a 1,000 yard rusher, two 1,000 yard receivers, and a 4,000 yard passer in the same season for the first time ever.   Even with the loss of Santonio Holmes, I have seen nothing to make me think this group is any less explosive.   We just need a quarterback able to make the plays.

I’ve been a vocal supporter of Steeler Football.  And I still believe Bruce Arians got carried away with the Flying Circus last year.  But I also realize the NFL isn’t the same as it was in 1985.  It used to be that you ran the ball to set up the pass.   Nowadays, the opposite usually holds true.

Rashard Mendenhall is off to a fine season.  He’d be off to an even finer season if opposing defenses weren’t able to stack the box against him.   Teams have had little to no reason to fear being burned through the air.  With Big Ben under center, they should be terrified.

My problem with Arians and last year’s offense was his tendency to get greedy.  Big plays and explosive scoring are great.   But it seemed like for every bomb Ben hit, Arians would dial up six more which failed.  An all-or-nothing mentality doesn’t control the clock and doesn’t give the defense any time to rest.  The pass/run ratio was ideal these first four games.  Our quarterbacks simply didn’t have the fantastic playmaking ability Ben has.

Will we see the return of Ben chucking 35+ passes per game?   Or will we see a balanced attack which strikes down-field but also controls time of possession with a commitment to the run?

I don’t know but the answer will go a long way to determining how the rest of the season shakes out.  What I do know is we have a great defense.  If we can add a great offense, this team will be near impossible to beat.   And with a fresh, focused, and HIGHLY MOTIVATED Ben Roethlisberger at the controls, I like our chances.  I like them a lot.

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The natives are restless in Big D.

After losing three out of their last four games, the Dallas Cowboy players aren’t the only ones pointing fingers and pushing the panic button on their season. Their fans are growing increasing unhappy with the underperformance of a team which featured no less than 11 Pro Bowlers last year. Fair or not, a good deal of their venom is directed toward head coach Wade Phillips. Their collective voices are crying out for one man to save them:

Bill Cowher.

Of course, every team with a head coaching vacancy, and even a few without one, set their sights on Coach Cowher. Two years ago, the Giants stumbled down the stretch but managed to squeak into the playoffs where they got dumped by the Philadelphia Eagles. The next day, the New York Post ran the headline “We Want Bill.” Last year, the hot rumor was Romeo Crennel was on his way out and Cowher was going to be installed as head coach and G.M. of the Cleveland Browns. But they had a surprisingly strong season and Romeo received a contract extension instead, although the way this year is going that might not last.

Everybody wants Bill Cowher. Why shouldn’t they? In 15 years here in Pittsburgh, he only missed the playoffs five times. He’s won 150 games and is in the top five of all time with a 62% win percentage. Not to mention the two Super Bowl appearances and one victory. When retreads who never accomplished anything like Denny Green keep getting shot after shot, it’s pretty obvious why Bill would be the most highly sought after coach in decades.

So I can’t blame Dallas for wanting him. But I can tell them it isn’t going to happen.

Cowher left Pittsburgh for two reasons: burn-out and money. Some people think it’s just the latter but that’s not true. Jerome Bettis called Cowher’s retirement the season before because he had confessed to the Bus that after the Super Bowl he was tired and wanted to spend time with his family. This was before contract extension talks had began with the Steelers so money was not an issue. It did become a problem after the season when it became clear that his desire to be the highest paid coach in the NFL wasn’t going to happen in Pittsburgh.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones only lure to snag Cowher would be money. Big giant piles of it. If getting the fattest paycheck he can is Bill’s only goal then Dallas could very well be in the running. But there is nothing to indicate that is the case. In fact, all evidence points to the opposite.

Prior to the 2007 season, Wayne Huizenga offered Bill Cowher basically the deal he gave Bill Parcells to coach and run the Miami Dolphins organization. Cowher turned him down, ostensibly because he wanted to spend time with his family. Being close to home is important to him, one reason why Washington, Carolina, and Atlanta were the jobs most frequently associated with him. Speaking of Atlanta, that brings us to this offseason. Falcons owner Arthur Blank offered Bill a blank check to take over that troubled franchise. Again, he turned them down. The Redskins also had a coaching vacancy and you better believe Danny Snyder would’ve opened his wallet for Bill if given the opportunity. Obviously if money were the issue, Cowher has had ample chances to, as the kids say, make the chedda.

Which brings us to the main reason why you won’t see The Chin roaming the field in the Lone Star state. Control. Bill Cowher is as headstrong a coach as you’ll find. He’s extremely demanding and extremely controlling. He’s far more Bill Parcells than Wade Phillips and everybody knows Parcells got fed up and left. If you want a caretaker to just make in-game decisions, then Cowher is not your guy.

Director of Player Personnel Tom Donohoe was run out of town because he butted heads with Coach Cowher. In Cowher’s first training camp, Huey Richardson, who had been the 15^th overall pick in the NFL Draft the previous season, demonstrated a total lack of football ability so Cowher cut him. One of the big issues during his last couple seasons was the increased authority of Dan Rooney’s son, Art III, in the organization. Where Dan leaves the team to his coaches, Art III is supposedly more involved which rubbed Bill the wrong way. In his farewell press conference, the heat between them was obvious as he specifically praised working with Dan but ignored Art, who was standing right next to him.

For this reason alone, I can’t possibly see how he’d get along with the Cowboys’ obnoxious overbearing doofus of an owner. If anybody missed HBO’s “Hard Knocks” show this year, I’ll give you a quick synopsis: Jerry Jones evaluating players. Jerry Jones making draft decisions. Jerry Jones at training camp. Jerry Jones meeting with coaches to discuss game plans. Jerry Jones giving his players motivational speeches in the locker room. See the problem yet?

Not to mention, Cowher likes blue collar hard edge football players. He hates prima donnas and crybabies. Before the AFC Championship game where San Diego upset the heavily favored Steelers, a bunch of players planned out a Super Bowl Shuffle type video. When we lost because we took our eye off the ball, Cowher was very upset with the players to the point he ran the ringleader of the video, Brentson Buckner, off the team. Wonder how he’d react to Tony Romo taking his bimbo to Cabo? One reason why they made no effort to retain Plaxico Burress was because Cowher had enough of his big mouth, criminal antics, and tendency to miss games over every broken fingernail. I’m sure he’d love T.O.

If Bill Cowher returns to the NFL, it’ll be in a situation similar to Mike Holmgren in Seattle. Total control over a team without any meddlesome input from an owner. And that will not happen in Dallas. So, sorry Cowboy fans, but NO BILL FOR YOU!