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Revision as of 16:18, 12 December 2005 by 71.98.89.21 (talk) (→Pro Career)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)William Laird Cowher (born May 8, 1957 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the head coach of the NFL (American football) Pittsburgh Steelers. As of 2005, he has the longest-running tenure as head coach of any active coach in the NFL. He is also the only NFL coach in league history to lose four conference championship games at home in his career, with no one else having lost more than two.
High School Career
Cowher excelled in football, basketball, and track for Carlynton High in Crafton, a suburb of Pittsburgh, less than five miles from Heinz Field.
College Career
At North Carolina State University, Cowher was a starting linebacker, team captain, and team MVP in his senior year. He graduated in 1979 with an education degree.
Pro Career
He began his NFL career as a player. He was a free-agent linebacker with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1979, and then signed with the Cleveland Browns the following year. Cowher played three seasons (1980-82) in Cleveland before being traded back to the Eagles, where he played two more years (1983-84).
Cowher began his coaching career in 1985 at age 28 under the Marty Schottenheimer with the Browns. He was the Browns' special teams coach in 1985-86 and secondary coach in 1987-88 before following Schottenheimer to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1989 as defensive coordinator.
He became the fifteenth head coach in Steelers history when he replaced Chuck Noll on January 21, 1992 – but only the second head coach since the NFL merger in 1970. In 1995, at age 38, he became the youngest coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl. Cowher is only the second coach in NFL history to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons as head coach, joining Pro Football Hall of Fame member Paul Brown. In Cowher’s 12 seasons, the Steelers have captured seven division titles, earned eight postseason playoff berths, advanced to four AFC Championship games and made one Super Bowl appearance. He is one of only six coaches in NFL history to claim at least seven division titles. It has become an article of faith among NFL pundits that the Steelers do not have a bad team two years in a row – they have never lost 10 or more in consecutive years since the 1970 NFL merger.
Cowher largely retained the famous "Steeler football" style of a strong running game on offense and an impeccable defense. With Kordell "Slash" Stewart at the helm in the 1990s, and, more recently, former college QBs Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle-El as wide receivers along with Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback, Cowher has added a dash of wildness rarely seen in Pittsburgh during his predecessor's tenure.
He is easily recognized on the sidelines at games, with his bushy mustache and strong jaw. His wife Kaye, also a North Carolina State graduate, played professional basketball for the New York Stars of the (now defunct) Women's Pro Basketball League with her twin sister Faye. Bill and Kaye live in Pittsburgh and have three daughters.
Memorable quotes
"I like this football team."
"Let's Go! Let's go!"
"I'm not gonna reflect on the past"
| Preceded byChuck Noll | Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coaches 1992–present |
Succeeded byCurrent coach |