Talent

Photo Name
Talent Name
Bill Cowher

Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Cowher joined CBS Sports as an analyst for the Network’s NFL studio show, THE NFL TODAY, in February 2007.

 

For four seasons (2014-17), Cowher joined James Brown and Deion Sanders for CBS and NFL Network’s pregame and post-game studio coverage of Thursday Night Football.

 

Cowher, who in 2005 led the Steelers to their first Super Bowl title in 26 years, was the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL before stepping down following the 2006 season after 15 years with the Steelers. His 15 seasons with the Steelers ranks ninth in NFL history for longest head coaching service with one team. Cowher was only the team’s second head coach since 1969 after taking over for legendary head coach Chuck Noll on January 21, 1992, at the age of 34. In 1995, at age 38, he became the youngest head coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl when the Steelers played the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. In September 2019, Cowher was inducted into the Steelers’ Hall of Honor. In January 2020, he was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of its Centennial Class. Cowher was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a ceremony in August 2021 due to the postponement of the 2020 ceremony because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Cowher’s Steelers teams earned 10 post-season berths, captured eight division titles, advanced to six AFC Championship games, made two Super Bowl appearances and won one Super Bowl title. He led the Steelers to post-season appearances in each of his first six seasons tying an NFL record originally set by Cleveland Browns legendary head coach Paul Brown. During his 15 seasons, the Steelers had the league’s most division titles and posted the NFL’s best overall record in the regular-season.

 

Cowher ended his coaching career with an overall record of 161-99-1 (.619) including a 149-90-1 (.623) mark in the regular-season. His record with the team ranks only second to Noll’s overall (209-156-1; .572) and regular-season (193-148-1; .566) records. Cowher’s regular-season (.623) and overall (.619) winning percentages are the second highest in Steelers history behind current head coach Mike Tomlin.

 

Cowher played five years as a linebacker and special teams standout for the Cleveland Browns (1980-82) and the Philadelphia Eagles (1983-84). He began his coaching career as a special teams coach in 1985 under Marty Schottenheimer and followed him to Kansas City as the eventual defensive coordinator before moving to Pittsburgh as head coach.

 

A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Cowher was born on May 8, 1957. He played linebacker for four years at North Carolina State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education in 1979. Cowher has three daughters, and resides with his wife, Veronica.

 

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