Legendary Steelers Coach Bill Cowher Tells Awesome Story About Jerome Bettis And Willie Parker

The Pittsburgh Steelers organization is one that has always been a staple in the NFL. The team did not commonly win its six Super Bowls with star-studded rosters, but a pivotal characteristic in those teams is what willed them to their titles. While the Steelers in the 1970s did have several NFL Hall of Famers, former Head Coach Bill Cowher recently spoke to one characteristic in which he believed in that led the team to its Super Bowl XL victory in the 2005 season over the Seattle Seahawks. The one thing that stuck out to Cowher for that team was the culture the players embodied.

Cowher, who has not entirely left the game of football as he works for CBS and NFL Today as a studio analyst, recently sat down with Jim Rome. They discussed several different topics about life in general, but Rome asked Cowher if he preferred culture or personnel when coaching. On Rome's Reinvention Project Podcast, Cowher specifically detailed what that 2006 Super Bowl team had in it to get the job done.

"I think so because during the course of that season, Romy, we, you know, we that year, we were 7 and 2 coming off a 15 and 1 season," Cowher said. "We lost three straight games and we went to 7 and 5. Everyone counted us out. We had to win our last four games to get into the playoffs. We were able to do that. Jerome Bettis was a leader, but yet he wasn't even starting because Willie Parker was starting; and we just had different leaders who had different roles and everyone kind of embraced who they were on that football team."

Jerome Bettis had an excellent career in Pittsburgh, but Cowher noted the leadership he brought even though Willie Parker became the starter. It is hard to ignore that culture that Cowher demanded is what brought about the humble leadership Bettis provided despite being a backup to Parker. This kind of culture has been seen around the NFL in the past, and often by Pittsburgh's hated rival, the New England Patriots.

The Patriots, similarly to the Steelers, did not always have a roster of personnel that were Pro Bowl types of players or future Hall of Famers. However, the group adopted the "Do Your Job" mantra, and it led to great success. Pittsburgh under Cowher was no different and this story of Bettis taking a backseat to Parker really embodies the kind of coach Cowher was, and how that culture can lead to winning and success in the NFL.

Steelers Must Create New Culture Under Mike McCarthy

Pittsburgh has a chance to recapture this culture under new Head Coach Mike McCarthy and get back to its winning ways in 2026. This entirely new regime — for the first time in 19 years — was met with criticism upon McCarthy's initial hiring. 

However, after his introductory press conference and showing how much he bleeds Black and Gold, the tone seems to have changed around McCarthy being the next head coach in the Steel City. McCarthy now has a chance to gain more popularity, especially if he is able to get the team to win its first playoff game in nearly a decade.

Pittsburgh's old culture and message had gone stale under Mike Tomlin. It led to fan frustration a lot, including "Fire Tomlin" chants in the team's 2025 Week 13 home loss to the Buffalo Bills. It was one of the all-time low points of Tomlin's tenure in Pittsburgh as head coach. One thing the organization has done so far entering 2026 is proactively acquiring talent to set McCarthy and company up for success in 2026.

With several great free agent acquisitions and the trade for wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., Pittsburgh has a chance to quickly right the ship in 2026. While the team has worked quickly to fill some holes in their roster, there is still work to be done. They will work to do so even more with the 2026 NFL Draft coming up. For McCarthy, who is known to be a likeable guy, he will need to instill a similar culture in the locker room to get the organization back to its winning ways.

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