Former Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher coached in the Steel City from 1992-2006. Cowher finally captured a Super Bowl at the end of his career, winning it in the 2005 season. He then retired after the 2006 season, and Head Coach Mike Tomlin took over from that point. However, when Cowher stepped away from the Steelers, he was only 49 years old. Despite retiring at such a young age, Cowher never returned to coaching.
Peter Diana / Post-Gazette
Former Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher (left) walks on the field with former wide receiver Hines Ward (right) while on the road for a professional football matchup.
Cowher explained that family played the biggest role in his choice to stay away from the sidelines. After years of dedicating his life to football, he wanted to focus on being present at home. He admitted that stepping away was difficult, but also refreshing after the grind of coaching at the highest level. Cowher said that once he left the game, he realized there was more to life than just football, and that perspective helped him find peace with never returning. He recently shared these thoughts on the NFL’s Second Acts podcast with Charles “Peanut” Tillman and Roman Harper.
In the years since, Cowher has built a successful career as an analyst on CBS’s The NFL Today, where he has remained a familiar face to football fans across the country. While many teams have inquired about his interest in coaching again, Cowher has consistently turned them down. His story stands as a rare example of a coach walking away at the top and staying away, proving that for him, family and life outside of football always came first.
"I stepped down after 2006," Cowher explained on the podcast. "My wife was not in a great place. Turns out she ended up passing away three years later. She had gotten cancer, and she had early Alzheimer's. So there was some things where I felt like we had been together since college, we had three daughters. I had the gig at CBS. I just felt like it was just time. It was 15 years [coaching]. I wanted to be there for her. And I was so glad I did it for those three years because it was very, very meaningful!"
For Cowher, the decision to step away from coaching came with ideal timing. His wife sadly fell ill, and Cowher was able to be there with her during the final years of her life. That, in and of itself, is a perfect example of what made Cowher such a relatable head coach in the Steel City.
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Former Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher smiles while on the set of The NFL Today.
He loved the game, but he was a Yinzer and a human being above all else. Instead of returning to the sidelines, Cowher focused on getting better in television and public speaking.
"I got asked by a lot of people to come back," Cowher said. "I was still 53 years old, just out of the game for 4-5 years. I got asked even when I was out to come back. But the more I was out and the more I started doing the TV gig, it was challenging. I wanted to get better at it. I got to be able to do a better job with my words. I got a Pittsburgh accent, I'm not finishing sentences. I'm sounding like a Yinzer, that doesn't resonate with people around the world. 'Like, what's he saying?'"
Steelers' Mike Tomlin Won The Super Bowl Shortly After Taking Over
When Tomlin took over, he inherited Cowher’s roster. Tomlin went on to win the 2008 Super Bowl when Ben Roethlisberger led a game-winning drive to defeat the Arizona Cardinals.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin and then-quarterback Ben Roethlisberger celebrate after winning the AFC Championship Game to move onto the Super Bowl.
A lot has been made about Tomlin winning with Cowher’s roster, but either way, both head coaches delivered Super Bowls to Pittsburgh. All three head coaches since 1969 have, of course, won Super Bowls for the organization.
Were you shocked when Bill Cowher never returned to coach football again? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below! Please feel free to share your Steelers takes with me on X @anthonyghalkias and follow me.
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