Steelers football

Today is the last football game for the Steelers this season. I do go into withdrawal after their season is done, and this week marks and earlier exit than we are used to around here. Sure, I will watch the payoffs and, if not in labor or already bringing home a newborn, we will have something that resembles a Super Bowl party. After having lived in exile---I mean in non-Steeler regions of the country for so many years, the past three football in Pittsburgh have been wonderful. Yeah, even this one.
Today's must-read for Steelers fans is this by the P-G's Bob Smizik. Actually, it is a good read for any football fan. Last week at the Steelers-Ravens game, a game we we were so happy to be able to attend, we sat directly in front of two very bitter season ticket holders. "Cowher should retire! He's washed up! Whisenhunt is a predictable moron!" were the usual themes of their rants. And then after the game, on the call-in shows on the radio, the same ideas played out over and over. Maybe it is because I am a girl and never played organized football myself, but I see Cowher and Whisenhunt as nothing short of magicians for what they do week-to-week.
There is a very strong likelihood that Cowher will retire next week, and his heir-apparent is Ken Whisenhunt, current offensive coordinator, though with no play-offs for the Steelers this year, Whisenhunt will be free to interview for openings all over the league this year, something the Super Bowl prevented him from doing this year.
Steelers fans, though, have never had it so good as during the Cowher era, as Smizik points out. Certainly, there were only two Super Bowl appearances, and one win, since 1992. However, his overall record is 148-90-1, 12-9 post-season. And as for that consistently good football, Smizik writes:

He has been an outstanding coach and he's at least borderline Hall of Fame. Some people seem to believer whoever replaces Cowher will carry on the tradition -- just as Cowher carried on Chuck Noll's tradition.

That's where Cowher's accomplishments are so overlooked. As great a coach as Noll was -- and his greatness, which included four Super Bowl victories, is indisputable -- the Steelers were floundering when he retired after the 1991 season. In Noll's final seven seasons, the Steelers were mediocre. They advanced to the playoffs only once in those seven years and never won more than nine games.

No one had a right to expect what Cowher did with that struggling team. He turned a 7-9 team into an 11-5 team. He turned a franchise that had been in the playoffs once in seven years to one that was in the playoffs for six consecutive years.

Maybe that was his mistake -- too good, too fast. He set the bar too high.

For those who believe Cowher can easily be replaced, here's a list of NFL coaches, by category, who came into the league after Cowher and who appeared to be just the answer, but who definitely were not.

Defensive coordinators: Gregg Williams (17-31 at Buffalo); Buddy Ryan (12-20 at Arizona); Ray Rhodes (38-46-1 at Philadelphia and Green Bay); Jim Haslett (45-51 at New Orleans); Dom Capers (48-80 at Carolina and Houston).

Offensive coordinators: Chris Palmer (5-27 at Cleveland); Lindy Infante (12-21 at Indianapolis); Kevin Gilbride (6-16 at San Diego); June Jones (22-37 at Atlanta and San Diego); Mike White (15-17 at Oakland). Mike Mularkey (14-18 at Buffalo); Bruce Coslet (21-39 at Cincinnati).

College coaches: Florida's Steve Spurrier (12-20 at Washington); Miami's Butch Davis (24-36 at Cleveland); Syracuse's Dick MacPherson (8-24 at New England); Oregon's Rich Brooks (13-19 with the Rams); Miami's Dennis Erickson (40-56 with Seattle and San Francisco). Oregon State's Mike Riley (14-34 with San Diego).

Older NFL assistants in their first head coaching job: Dick LeBeau (12-33 at Cincinnati); Gunther Cunningham (16-16 at Kansas City); Rod Rust (1-15 at New England); Joe Bugel (20-44 at Arizona); Ray Handley (14-18 with the Giants); Richie Petitbon (4-12 at Washington); Dave McGinnis (17-40 with Arizona); Dave Campo (15-33 with Dallas).

Super Bowl winners: Mike Ditka (15-33 at New Orleans); George Seifert (16-32 at Carolina); Tom Flores (14-34 at Seattle); Joe Gibbs (21-26 at Washington).