Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been known as bruisers. The franchise has hung its hat on defense and an offensive ground game, guiding it to six Super Bowls and a reputation as one of the NFL’s most revered outfits.
As team president Art Rooney II and general manager Omar Khan comb the ranks for a new head coach, former Steelers leader Bill Cowher doesn’t think there should be any bias toward keeping the same style of play.
“It’s not how you do it, it’s the way you do it,” Cowher said Wednesday on CBS Sports’ “We Need To Talk.”
Winning, he feels, is much more important than how people perceive the team’s identity. Cowher, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, was in charge in Pittsburgh from 1992-2006, compiling a 149-90-1 record in the regular season and winning Super Bowl XL. He trails his only predecessor, Chuck Noll, and the recently-departed Mike Tomlin — both of whom have 193 regular-season victories — on the Steelers’ all-time coaching wins leaderboard.
“I think, right now, as you sit back and you look at it, the person walking into that building, it’s not gonna be about the style of play, but it’s the manner with which you approach it,” Cowher said. “And I think that the thing, the people in Pittsburgh, they appreciate hard work, they appreciate humility, they appreciate the competitive spirit that you can bring to that, and the degree of toughness that you represent. But there’s an accountability that you have to have, as well. And I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Cowher’s Steelers had a top-10 defense in terms of yards allowed 10 times, leading the league in 2004 and being runner-up in 1992 and 1994. On a dozen occasions, the Steelers were top-10 in yards allowed, being the stingiest unit in 2001 and 2004. Pittsburgh had a top-5 ground game in eight seasons during Cowher’s tenure, pacing the league in 1994, 1997 and 2001.
“For now, I don’t wanna sorta put any real parameters around it,” Rooney said about the team’s head coaching search during a press conference last week. “We’re gonna be an open book in terms of who we look for and the list that we build. So, yeah, could I sign up for another Chuck Noll or another Bill Cowher or another Mike Tomlin? Sure. Somebody that we feel fits that mold would be great, but, for now, we’re not gonna kinda narrow the box too much.”
The Steelers have interviewed candidates that don’t fit the up-and-coming defensive coordinator archetype, including Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak and former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Cowher: Steelers Tradition Shouldn’t Put Chokehold on Future
