Cowher lost his share of clunkers, too

[stillers4me]

There’s a myth amongst Steelers fans who look back on the days of Bill Cowher the same way some do the teams of the 1970s.

The myth is Cowher’s teams never lost to inferior opponents in the same way current head coach Mike Tomlin’s teams seem to do.

And it is exactly that, a myth.

The first road game I covered in 1993, when I started on this beat, was a 27-0 shellacking at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams, a team that finished 5-11. That season also included a 16-6 loss at Seattle, a team that won six games.

But that was a 9-7 Cowher team that got into the playoffs only by beating Cleveland at home in the final game of the regular season.

So let’s take a look at some of Cowher’s better teams...............

READ MORE @ http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20141004/COLUMN0103/141009741#.VDFgzJV0ycx

[st33lersguy]

This is irrelevant and is starting to get old

[BigNastyDefense]

This is irrelevant and is starting to get old

Not when people (not necessarily on this forum) say that Cowher wouldn't have lost to a bad team. He did. He lost to inferior opponents more than people like to remember.

[fansince'76]

This is irrelevant and is starting to get old

Likewise with the Cowher deification that takes place every time this team loses with Tomlin as HC.

[86WARD]

There was never really a sense that Cowher didn't have his players under control, disciplined, etc. not that I remember, maybe I'm forgetting something?

[fansince'76]

There was never really a sense that Cowher didn't have his players under control, disciplined, etc. not that I remember, maybe I'm forgetting something?

Maybe. I don't remember anybody ever getting ejected from a game for fighting with an opposing player in pregame warmups during Tomlin's tenure, though...

[86WARD]

I'd LOOOOOVE to see that now...that would mean we had some players that were, mean, nasty and passionate.

[stillers4me]

I wonder how Cowher's teams would have handled the "new NFL" rules.

[86WARD]

Probably would've given teams 20 yards cushion.

[HollywoodSteel]

I'm not sure why all the Cowher comparisons? I mean, sure I get that it's fun, but Tomlin needs to be judged against his contemporaries. I wouldn't want Cowher back as HC, especially with all the rules moving toward a passing league. Maybe he could adjust, maybe not, but he's been out of the game for a long time. If you want to get rid of Tomlin, then ask yourself who you would rather have. I don't keep up with college coaches, so I don't know if the next Chip Kelly is out there. If John Gruden wanted the job, that would be an interesting proposal given what he could do with this offense.

But as much as I rant against Tomlin, I know that any regime change is a big risk and usually takes a while to overcome. I'd rather have Tomlin improve and succeed than fire him at this point, but it's pretty silly for me to make that call one way or the other from the outside, not knowing what goes on behind the scenes.

[Butch]

Hell I can never forget how many times we lost playoff games that we should have won going away because we got the leads and then tried to sit on the leads. The S.D. one in particular hurt the worst.

That being said I wonder how Tomlin would have handled the revolving door of losing talented players that Cowher had to deal with, and yet cowher teams still seemed to be competitive to me.

[ALLD]

Cowher would play it too conservatively and he was labeled like Schottenheimer that he could not win the big one. Until he did.

[X-Terminator]

I'd LOOOOOVE to see that now...that would mean we had some players that were, mean, nasty and passionate.

And also suspended. This isn't 2004 anymore.


I'm not sure why all the Cowher comparisons? I mean, sure I get that it's fun, but Tomlin needs to be judged against his contemporaries. I wouldn't want Cowher back as HC, especially with all the rules moving toward a passing league. Maybe he could adjust, maybe not, but he's been out of the game for a long time. If you want to get rid of Tomlin, then ask yourself who you would rather have. I don't keep up with college coaches, so I don't know if the next Chip Kelly is out there. If John Gruden wanted the job, that would be an interesting proposal given what he could do with this offense.

But as much as I rant against Tomlin, I know that any regime change is a big risk and usually takes a while to overcome. I'd rather have Tomlin improve and succeed than fire him at this point, but it's pretty silly for me to make that call one way or the other from the outside, not knowing what goes on behind the scenes.

The comparisons are being made precisely because of what has already been brought up. Every time Tomlin loses a game or something bad happens, the go-to criticism is "Well, that wouldn't have happened if The Chin was coach!"...even though it did. Numerous times. I simply do not understand this romanticism of everything Cowher by some members and the majority of fans in general. He was FAR...FAR...from perfect.

[HollywoodSteel]

And also suspended. This isn't 2004 anymore.



The comparisons are being made precisely because of what has already been brought up. Every time Tomlin loses a game or something bad happens, the go-to criticism is "Well, that wouldn't have happened if The Chin was coach!"...even though it did. Numerous times. I simply do not understand this romanticism of everything Cowher by some members and the majority of fans in general. He was FAR...FAR...from perfect.

It probably has less to do with statistical comparisons as nostalgia for the past. Also some people are nostalgic for his kind of grind it out football. I understand that. Maybe he was better at some things, worse at others, and about the same with yet others. I don't think Cowher was any kind of Bellichick or Walsh. When he had great players he did well, and he was above average as a leader and motivator. But I don't know if he was any kind of magician with subpar players.

[ALLD]

The comparison is brought up because as we get further away from our last SB win, we also get further away from Cower's draft. It also throw much more responsibility on Tomlin rather than transition.

[fansince'76]

The comparison is brought up because as we get further away from our last SB win, we also get further away from Cower's draft. It also throw much more responsibility on Tomlin rather than transition.

6 years? We waited more than twice that long for Cowher to win one. And as far as drafting goes, if the first pick in '04 were left up to him and Dan Rooney hadn't pulled rank and overruled him, we'd more than likely still be waiting for Lombardi #5.

And the one he finally did win was so badly played that pretty much everyone outside of the Nation still thinks the refs were in the bag for the Steelers.

[86WARD]

Gruden was a horrible head coach. They're better off with Tomlin than Gruden.