1. William Laird Cowher is an American sports analyst, former professional football player and coach.
49 Facts About Bill Cowher
1. 2.
Bill Cowher began his coaching career as an assistant under Marty Schottenheimer for the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs, serving as the latter's defensive coordinator from 1989 to 1991.
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In 1992, Bill Cowher was named head coach of the Steelers, whom he led until his retirement following the 2006 season.
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Under Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh won eight division titles, two AFC Championship Games, and Super Bowl XL.
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The Steelers appeared in the postseason 10 times with Bill Cowher, including six consecutive appearances from his 1992 hiring to 1997, which made him the second NFL head coach to reach the playoffs during each of his first six seasons after Paul Brown.
6.
Bill Cowher was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
7.
Bill Cowher was born and raised in Crafton, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh.
8.
Bill Cowher is the son of the late Laird and Dorothy Cowher.
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Bill Cowher's father attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh's south side neighborhood where he was briefly a classmate with eventual Steelers owner Dan Rooney.
10.
The Bill Cowher family resided on Hawthorne Avenue, in Crafton, while Bill Cowher was growing up.
11.
Bill Cowher was named "Most Athletic" and was a captain of the Cougars football team, both his senior year.
12.
When Bill Cowher graduated in 1975, he committed to North Carolina State University, one of few schools that offered him a scholarship.
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Bill Cowher currently owns the school record for most tackles in a single season with 195.
14.
Bill Cowher graduated from NC State in 1979, receiving a bachelor's degree in education while he was preparing for the 1979 NFL Draft.
15.
Bill Cowher began his NFL career as a linebacker with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1979, but signed with the Cleveland Browns the following year.
16.
Bill Cowher played three seasons from 1980 to 1982 in Cleveland, making him a member of the Kardiac Kids, before being traded back to the Eagles, where he played two more years from 1983 to 1984.
17.
Bill Cowher primarily played special teams during his playing career; subsequently, he placed emphasis on special teams during his coaching career.
18.
Bill Cowher credits being a "bubble player" during his playing career with influencing his coaching career, feeling that such players work the hardest for a roster spot, and thus make better head coaches than those with successful playing careers.
19.
Bill Cowher began his coaching career in 1985 at age 28 under Marty Schottenheimer with the Cleveland Browns.
20.
Bill Cowher, who had played under Schottenheimer in Cleveland when Schottenheimer was the team's defensive coordinator, stated that he took a coaching position despite taking a significant pay cut from what he would have made as a player with the Eagles in 1985 because he saw his fortunes as a player limited and saw more of a future as a coach.
21.
Belichick was impressed enough with Cowher that he and Giants head coach Bill Parcells offered to make Cowher the Giants defensive backs coach following Schottenheimer's sudden departure from Cleveland in 1988, but Cowher opted to remain loyal to Schottenheimer.
22.
Bill Cowher interviewed with the Browns for their head coaching vacancy in 1991 before losing out to close friend Belichick; it is believed that Cowher's young age at the time played a factor in losing out to Belichick.
23.
Bill Cowher was a finalist for the Cincinnati Bengals head coaching position in 1991 following the dismissal of Sam Wyche, but was passed over in favor of Dave Shula.
24.
Bill Cowher continued a trend for the Steelers hiring coaches in their 30s that dates back to Joe Bach who began coaching the Steelers in 1935 when they were still named the Pittsburgh Pirates.
25.
Bill 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.
26.
In 1998, Bill Cowher led the team to their first losing season of his tenure, breaking a six-year streak of playoff teams.
27.
Bill Cowher did not initially want to select Roethlisberger in the first round as he was "comfortable" with starter Tommy Maddox and backup Charlie Batch.
28.
On January 5,2007, Bill Cowher resigned after 15 years of being the Steelers head coach.
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Bill Cowher is one of only six coaches in NFL history to claim at least seven division titles.
30.
On January 11,2020, Bill Cowher was told live on a CBS pregame show that he was being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of its centennial class by its president David Baker.
31.
Much like his mentor Marty Schottenheimer, Bill Cowher believed in a strong defense with an emphasis on special teams performance, complimented by a strong running game on offense.
32.
Unlike the conservative Schottenheimer Bill Cowher was known to take more risks, including going for it on fourth down, such as his first game as a head coach against the Houston Oilers when he had punter Mark Royals throw a fake punt to Warren Williams and putting the Steelers near the goal line.
33.
Unlike the stoic Noll, Bill Cowher was known to be more fiery and emotional, specifically with his jaw line when he was angry and being known as "the Chin".
34.
Bill Cowher is known for being a vocal supporter of the coaching profession in general and was upset that the Indianapolis Colts hired former center Jeff Saturday as interim head coach in 2022 despite having no coaching experience above the high school level and the team having several assistants already on the staff with previous head coaching experience.
35.
Bill Cowher serves as a host the NFL's CBS Halftime Report.
36.
In November 2024, Bill Cowher confirmed he will be re-signing with CBS in 2025, keeping him as a host for 19 years.
37.
In 2007, Bill Cowher appeared in the ABC reality television series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, featuring a dozen celebrities in a stock car racing competition.
38.
In July 2010, Bill Cowher was the keynote speaker for National Agents Alliance at their Leadership Conference.
39.
Bill Cowher talked about work ethic, leadership and how that transfers into the work force.
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Bill Cowher said it's not about what you accomplish, it's about who you touch along the way.
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Bill Cowher had a part in the movie The Dark Knight Rises, which was filmed at Heinz Field, the home of the Steelers, on Pittsburgh's North Side.
42.
Bill Cowher played the head coach of the Gotham Rogues.
43.
In May 2023, Bill Cowher reunited with Ben Roethlisberger on Roethlisberger's podcast Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger.
44.
Players under Bill Cowher that became head coaches in the NFL:.
45.
Kaye Bill Cowher died of skin cancer at age 54 on July 23,2010.
46.
In 2007, the Bill Cowher family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, from the Pittsburgh suburb of Fox Chapel.
47.
In 2018 Bill Cowher put his Raleigh house in North Ridge Country Club up for sale after announcing he would be moving to New York full-time.
48.
Bill Cowher was on the cover of EA Sports' 2006 video game NFL Head Coach.
49.
Bill Cowher appears in TV advertising for Time Warner Cable.