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| yinzluvsteelers Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher was named as one of 103 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012. |
2012 is Cowher's first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame.
Cowher's resume is very impressive.
- Super Bowl XL victory (2005)
- 2 AFC Championship victories (1995, 2005)
- AP NFL Coach of the Year (1992)
- 2× Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year(1992, 2004)
- 149–90–1 (regular season record)
- 12–9 (playoff record)
- 161–99–1 (overall record)
Cowher's resume is certainly Hall of Fame worthy. Cowher is 17th all-time in wins, ahead of Hall of Famer's Weeb Ewbank, Hank Stram and Sid Gillman, as well as Levy and Allen.
Cowher also has more playoff wins than Bill Walsh and fellow Hall of Fame nominee Bill Parcells.
Cowher took the Steelers to the playoffs each of his first six seasons as a head coach. The only other coach to do that; Paul Brown.
Almost every year Cowher had the Steelers as Super Bowl contenders. Cowher took the Steelers to two Super Bowls and six AFC Championship games. Cowher was a great motivator and did a great job of getting the most out of his players.
Perhaps Cowher should have had more success in the playoffs. Losing 4 AFC Championships stings. You would at least like to be .500 in 6 AFC Championship game appearances. Sometimes Cowher was his own worst enemy. He stuck with Kordell Stewart too long. In playoff games he often got too conservative.
Cowher, despite his lofty resume, can very much be considered a underachiever. I compare his coaching resume to Peyton Manning's playing career. Regular season one of the all-time best, won a championship, but there's that should have won more than one feeling about it.
My biggest excuse for Cowher not winning more than 1 Super Bowl is he never really had a great Super Bowl. Most of the greatest coaches of all-time had Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Bill Walsh had Joe Montana, Bill Belichick has Tom Brady, Vince Lombardi had Bart Starr, Chuck Noll had Terry Bradshaw, and Tom Landry had Roger Staubach.
Cowher went to the playoffs with Tommy Maddox and Kordell Stewart. Hell, Cowher went to two AFC Championship games with Stewart as his qb. Cowher had one great quarterback for three seasons in Ben Roethlisberger.
In two seasons with Roethlisberger, Cowher went 26-6, went to back to back AFC Championship games, and won Super Bowl XL. Those were Roethlisberger's first two years in the league. Since then Roethlisberger has won another Super Bowl and went to another.
What if Cowher would have had Roethlisberger or a qb of his caliber for longer?
To me, Cowher provided Steeler Nation with great memories. If Marv Levy, who lost four straight Super Bowls, can make it to the Hall of Fame, Cowher should be a no-brainer.
There is no doubt that Cowher is Hall of Fame worthy. Whether or not he will get in on the first try is a bigger question. The NFL hates putting guys in on the first try unless they are "slam-dunk" legends so to speak. Which I guess I understand.
Although to me, you're either a Hall of Famer or you're not. The Hall of Fame's standards are what they used to be. Personally I think the NFL Hall of Fame lets too many people in every year as it is.
Fact is Cowher deserves to go to the Hall. It doesn't make sense to make guys wait. They either belong or they don't.
Bill Parcells deserves to get in, so does Dermotti Dawson, Jimmie Johnson, Chris Carter, and Jerome Bettis. They made Bettis wait, which tells me that they're going to make Cowher wait, at least a year.
Every year there are rumors that Cowher will be a head coach again. He's one of the most recognizable coaches in the history of the game. He was already going to be one of the highest paid coaches in the league, imagine if he can put the Hall of Fame on his resume. He'll be the highest paid coach of all-time.
Cowher, who now works for CBS as an analyst, left behind a legacy of his own in Pittsburgh, after following a true legend in Chuck Noll.
Cowher won 8 division titles, 2 AFC Championship games, and a Super Bowl. Not many can say that. Cowher also left coach Mike Tomlin a pretty good team.Cowher is a Steelers' icon.
Cowher will get in and should get in. I just don't think he'll be a first ballot guy.
It's real simple Hall of Fame voters, PUT THE CHIN IN!
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