An early bye week may not be the best thing, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are still going to enjoy it while they can. They have dealt with so many injuries since training camp started, so now is the time to get healthy and get as close to full strength as possible for the rest of the season. With the rest of the AFC North seemingly tripping over themselves, the division is now Pittsburgh's to win or lose. A strong outing right out of the bye week can help secure a stranglehold of the division.
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Steelers' Mike Tomlin coaching during a win over the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland during the 2025 season.
While helping to host NFL Today, Hall of Fame Head Coach Bill Cowher was asked about the bye week practices before the extended weekend (Week 18) by one of his co-hosts, Matt Ryan. Cowher responded with a funny story about how he used to prank his players on the last day before his players went home for their break.
"If we're winning, we'd go out there and stretch, and we got the individual periods — and all of a sudden, I'd blow a whistle and I'd act like I was mad and said, 'Get out of here'," Cowher said. "I'd go 'Get in here right now. I've watched you guys worked; I've watched you guys stretch. You know, I've been watching this all week. Where we are right now — you know what? You guys have earned. Catch an early flight. Get out of here.'"
The whole crew on NFL Today was laughing at Cowher's story. He also replicated his facial movements, making his players think he was angry at them. Usually, catching an early flight home means that you're cut or you missed the playoffs, but when it's the bye week, there is nothing that a player wants more than to go home, be with his family, and take a well-deserved break.
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Steelers former Head Coach Bill Cowher with late Team Owner Dan Rooney.
"The Chin" is well known for his outbursts whenever he would get angry, so this prank would likely scare his players at first. Once the Steelers realized they weren't in trouble and were actually being rewarded for all their hard work, it was probably about as funny to them as it was to the rest of the crew of NFL Today when he retold the story.
In fact, there may not be another member entrenched in NFL history that has had a more recognizable frown than Cowher. If he was upset at something or someone, the whole world was going to know about it. Even before the internet was a big thing, he had many moments that went viral throughout his tenure with the Steelers, and it's safe to say that his players knew about it too.
Steelers' Viral Moments With Cowher
Maybe his most notable outburst ever was not at a player or a coach. It was at an official. After he believed that the referees got a call wrong, he took a Polaroid picture and put in the official's face. When the official tried to ignore it, Cowher shoved that picture into the shirt pocket of the head referee. Even today, that is still a moment that gets talked about around football circles across the country.
The Athletic
Bill Cowher screams at the refs during a playoff game in Jan 2002.
Teams will do anything they can to get bulletin board material to add motivation to a game. In the case of the 2005 Wild Card game, it was the rallying cry of the Steelers' opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals. After Ben Roethlisberger helped to lead Pittsburgh to victory, Cowher's post-game speech began with Cincinnati's slogan, "Who Dey." His teammates responded with "We Dey" as the group did the whole chant together.
There are many ways to describe Cowher as a coach and an analyst. Boring is certainly not one of them. He has always been very animated. He may not be as fiery as he once was, but a poor Steelers performance can still occasionally bring out some of his patented anger. He was one of the most fun coaches to watch throughout any given season in NFL history.
What do you think about the prank that Cowher would pull on his players? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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