Bill Cowher

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Laird Cowher AKA "The Jaw" (born May 8 , 1957 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ) is the head coach of the NFL ( American Football Conference ) Pittsburgh Steelers . As of 2005, he has the longest-running tenure as head coach of any active coach in the NFL. The Steelers won Super Bowl XL under his direction, his first ever championship.

His wife Kaye, also a North Carolina State University graduate, played professional basketball for the New York Stars of the (now defunct) Women's Pro Basketball League with her twin sister Faye. Bill and Kaye live in Pittsburgh and have three daughters, all of whom are also basketball players.

High School Career

Cowher excelled in football, basketball, and track for Carlynton High in Crafton, Pennsylvania , a suburb of Pittsburgh, less than five miles from Heinz Field .

College Career

At North Carolina State University , Cowher was a starting linebacker, team captain, and team MVP in his senior year. He graduated in 1979 with an education degree.

Pro Career

He began his NFL career as a player. He was a free-agent linebacker with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1979, and then signed with the Cleveland Browns the following year. Cowher played three seasons (1980-82) in Cleveland before being traded back to the Eagles, where he played two more years (1983-84).

One notable moment in his playing career is a special teams play when he broke the leg, and subsequently ended the playing career, of Chicago Bears kick returner (and current head coach of the Tennessee Titans ) Jeff Fisher .

Coaching Career

Cowher began his coaching career in 1985 at age 28 under Marty Schottenheimer with the Browns. He was the Browns' special teams coach in 1985-86 and secondary coach in 1987-88 before following Schottenheimer to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1989 as defensive coordinator.

He became the fifteenth head coach in Steelers history when he replaced Chuck Noll on January 21, 1992 â€“ but only the second head coach since the NFL merger in 1970. In 1995 , at age 38, he became the youngest coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl . Cowher is only the second coach in NFL history to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons as head coach, joining Pro Football Hall of Fame member Paul Brown . In Cowher's 14 seasons, the Steelers have captured eight division titles, earned ten postseason playoff berths, advanced to six AFC Championship games and made two Super Bowl appearances. He is one of only six coaches in NFL history to claim at least seven division titles. It has become an article of faith among NFL pundits that the Steelers do not have a bad team two years in a row â€“ they have never lost 10 or more games in consecutive years since the 1970 NFL merger. At the conclusion of the 2005 regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have the best record of any team in the National Football League since Cowher was hired as head coach. As of the end of the 2005 normal season, Cowher has boasted a 102-1-1 record he has when up by 11 or more points at any moment in a game. On February 5th, 2006, Cowher's Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XL by defeating the Seattle Seahawks 21-10, giving Cowher his first Super Bowl ring.

Preceded by:
Chuck Noll Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coaches
1992â€“present Succeeded by:
Current coach

This info taken from this page on www.wikipedia.com

Bill Cowher's Coaching Career Statistics
Year Win Loss Tie
1992 11 5 0
1993 9 7 0
1994 12 4 0
1995 11 5 0
1996 10 6 0
1997 11 5 0
1998 7 9 0
1999 6 10 0
2000 9 7 0
2001 13 3 0
2002 10 5 1
2003 6 10 0
2004 15 1 0
2005 11 5 0
2006 8 8 0

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