Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher joined KDKA-TV’s Rich Walsh for a one-on-one sit down Monday to discuss the Hall of Famer’s broadcasting career, his love for Pittsburgh and the future of the franchise.
"You can take the people out of Pittsburgh, but not the Pittsburgh out of people." Former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher sat down with KDKA's Rich Walsh to talk all things Steelers, including the future of Ben Roethlisberger and the team. https://t.co/LU1iXAq5BK
— KDKA (@KDKA) February 8, 2021
Fourteen years into his broadcasting with The NFL Today on CBS, Cowher is enjoying the “balance” in his life, and the fact that he now has a true offseason to spend with family.
Cowher originally stepped away from the coaching profession to focus on family, but things admittedly did not go as plan. His wife Kaye passed away at age 54 three years into his retirement. Cowher has since remarried and moved to New York full-time
“One thing I’ll say is I haven’t lost a game in 14 years,” Cowher said in jest.
Cowher also offered his thoughts on the state of the Steelers, saying he believes they are not that far off from making another appearance in the Super Bowl themselves. He compares Pittsburgh to the Tamp Bay Buccaneers, who no one believed would have won Super Bowl LV a year ago.
“I don’t think they’re that far,” he said. “I think you have to re-tool, there are some decisions that are going to have to be made.”
He says those decisions will ultimately come down to the Rooney’s and head coach Mike Tomlin, who are known to be calculated in their process.
“Dan did it, Art’s gonna do it, I’m sure Mike (Tomlin) will do it too, is you don’t make rash decisions right after the season,” Cowher said.
But Cowher is not naïve, recognizing tough choices are on the horizon for the Steelers organization, mainly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the NFL’s salary cap.
“All of a sudden you have this COVID year, and instead of the cap going up, it’s coming down dramatically, so consequentially there are going to be some tough decisions you have to make in regards to personnel,” Cowher said.
Lastly, Walsh asked Cowher if he believes Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can and should be back. The man who originally drafted the 38-year-old sees a return as a strong possibility, but admits the financial ramifications are tough.
“He’s done so much for the organization. I think he wants to come back. I think you can see that in his play this year,” Cowher said. “Can you bring everybody back? You can’t. You never can every year. So you have to sit down and make those decisions. Understand where you are.”
Cowher closed the discussion sharing his love for Pittsburgh, pointing out a Steelers helmet with the Super Bowl XL logo over his right shoulder.
“You can take the people out of Pittsburgh, but not the Pittsburgh out of people,” Cowher closed.