Bill Cowher’s initial goal upon becoming the Steelers head coach was a simple one. A Pittsburgh native who grew up less than 15 miles from Three Rivers Stadium, Cowher was just 34 years old when he was tasked to succeed Chuck Noll, who guided the Steelers to four Super Bowls during the 1970s.
“If I don’t screw this up in three years, I can go back to my 20th high school class reunion at Carlynton High School as the head coach of my hometown team,” Cowher told NFL Films in 2020. “That was my initial goal.”
Cowher achieved that and so much more during his 15 years as Steelers coach. A former NFL linebacker for the Browns who later broke into coaching under Marty Schottenheimer, Cowher guided the Steelers to one Super Bowl title, two AFC titles and seven division titles. Cowher’s success in Pittsburgh led to his inclusion in the 2020 Hall of Fame class. Cowher was inducted alongside former Steelers player Troy Polamalu.
On Monday, Cowher celebrated his 66th birthday. Here are five things you may not have previously known about the former coach and current CBS NFL analyst.
A record-setting start
Cowher’s career started with six consecutive trips to the playoffs, tying Paul Brown’s record for the most consecutive playoff seasons for a first-time head coach. Led by a dominant defense that included Hall of Famers Rod Woodson and Kevin Greene, along with perennial Pro Bowlers Greg Lloyd and Carnell Lake, the “Blitzburgh” Steelers won five division titles during that span while establishing themselves as one of the NFL’s most physical outfits. Among the highlights during Cowher’s first six seasons included a 1994 playoff victory over Bill Belichick’s Browns, the first time the two franchises had ever met in the postseason.
Super Bowl history
After falling short in the 1994 AFC Championship Game, Cowher’s 1995 team endured an early setback when Woodson suffered a knee injury in Week 1 that kept him out for the remainder of the regular season. After a slow start, the ’95 Steelers became the first team to make it to the Super Bowl after a 3-4 start. A big reason for the Steelers’ second-half surge was the emergence of rookie Kordell Stewart, whose versatility as a quarterback, running back and receiver earned him the nickname “Slash.”
In the playoffs, the Steelers raced past the Bills before surviving a last-second Hail Mary to beat the Colts in the AFC title game. With the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CBSSports.com Headlines…