Is Bill Cowher Really The Answer?
December 30th, 2009
There were a lot of reasons Bucs fans, and management, soured on Chucky as the Bucs head coach. One of which was his postseason record with the Bucs.
Sure, Chucky did what Father Dungy never could: got the Bucs a Super Bowl ring. Whenever one of the Dungyphiles begin genuflecting over Father Dungy, they should remember he failed here. The thing is the ring.
After that glorious Super Bowl season, Chucky was very much Dungyesque in his postseason appearances. Chucky never won another playoff game since beating Oakland in the Super Bowl.
So when Joe reads the comments on this very blog of some Bucs fans begging, pleading, willing to sacrifice both their first child and a Caybrew in order to lure Cowher, Joe is puzzled.
Why? Because Chucky’s winning percentage in the postseason isn’t much worse than Cowher’s.
In Cowher’s 15 years in Pittsburgh, he guided the Steelers to the playoffs 10 times. So far, damned good. Eight times the Steelers won their division. Even better. But in 10 playoff trips, he only made the Super Bowl twice, winning once.
Cowher’s postseason record is 12-9, a winning percentage of .571.
Chucky has been to far less playoffs. He led the Raiders and Bucs to the postseason six times in 11 seasons, including five division titles. Chucky’s postseason record is 5-4 for a winning percentage of .556.
So if Cowher’s postseason winning percentage is only slighty better than Chucky’s, Joe wonders if this is much of an upgrade? Cowher will likely demand as much or more salary than Chucky as well.
Maybe Bryan and Joel’s goal is to sell NFC South Division Champion T-shirts?
Never mind that Cowher has never run a front office, never run a scouting department, never run a draft. Some people suggest Bucs general manager Mark Dominik is not experienced enough but he already has more experience in those aforementioned areas than Cowher.
Joe’s not saying; Joe’s just saying.
December 30th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Dear Joe,
Chucky doesn’t coach here any more. That’s ancient history. The “upgrade” is from Raheem Morris.
Answer me this, Why don’t you get that?
December 30th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Well the Glazers will never get that waiting list back with Raheem, not anytime soon that is. The Chin will get fans interested again and fill those empty seats.
December 30th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Joe,
Here’s a name that nobody is mentioning: Monte Kiffin! I’m sure that he can be lured from Tennessee with the right offer.
December 30th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Just say no to World Domination and keep Raheem.
December 30th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Joe, Everyone keeps saying that Cowher will put people in the seats…why should that matter to the fans? You know what else puts people in the seats? Winning Championships. And Cowher may come here and Win some regular season games and maybe some division titles but I doubt he’ll win a Super Bowl.
These same people that are wanting to get rid of Raheem so soon are probably the same ones that were so excited when he was hired and John Gruden was fired. Raheem may not be the answer but you fired a Super bowl winning coach to give the job to him. Not because of his resume but because of his potential. Anyone who expected any other outcome to this season than what we have is dillusional.
You can’t build a winning team by changing the coach every year.
That’s the exact reason why Cowher had what succes he did in Pittsburg, because the Rooneys know that you stick by your coach and dont get rid of him at the first sign of trouble.
December 30th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Joe,
Remember you can have really good post season stats but a lousy record when it comes to winning the Superbowl
When we discussed this on an earlier blog you had mentioned you’d mentioned Marv Levy vs Marty Schottenheimer. Perfect example. 5 AFC Championships victories for Levy. No Superbowl wins. Winning percentage .579..a little better than Cowher..But he also coached longer than Cowher. Bill Parcells is slightly lower at .578 but he has two rings. Shanahan is at .615 and has 2 rings. However he hasn’t won a playoff game since 1998.
The best I could find in terms of winning percentage is Belichick which is at .824 and 3 rings.
The point is, there is no one of Belichick’s caliber out there to hire. Cowher would probably give the Bucs the best chance to make the playoffs again and advance to the Superbowl.
Remember, in each Superbowl there is a winner and a loser. I think what the fans want is a coach that can consistently get them to the playoffs year after year and win. You do that by getting a coach who has been there before and knows how to 1) Organize a cohesive team 2) Hire competent assistants.
I think that is part of Morris’s problem. He lacks the skill in both of those areas.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:37 am
D-Money, I can assure you that the fans (me) that are wanting an inexperience coach replaced are “not” the same fans that were calling for Gruden to be fired. There can be no comparison to a winning coach, & Morris. Bringing Cowher in here would, at minimum, right a wrong. It was wrong of the Glazers to fire Gruden, then replace him with an amatuer. If Morris is still here next year the season ticket base will be zilch!
December 30th, 2009 at 10:46 am
To the last post. I have heard nothing but unwavering support from the players for Raheem. Lets see what assistants he hires this offseason, when given a real chance at hiring. Last years choices were more like shotgun weddings. He needed assistants, and they were available period.
When you think of Cowher, do you think Buc football? I sure don’t. Either Cowher would need to change his coaching philosophy or the players would have to change drastically. Either way that doesn’t sound like a good match to me. Learn a little from the Pittsburgh owners and stick with your coach.
This year Raheem didn’t really have a chance at success. Look at their 2009 schedule again. Rewatch the last four games of 2008. We are getting better, and that is what coaching is.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Plenty of tickets will sell if we are winning next year, regardless of the coach.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Paul Wiezorek:
Bingo!
December 30th, 2009 at 11:09 am
How do you compare a guy that had a top teb defense every year for 15 years, and makes it to the play offs 75% of the time, and had one single losing season in that 15 years…..to Chucky?
Joe, please quite writing this same paragraph at the bottom of every article…
“Never mind that Cowher has never run a front office, never run a scouting department, never run a draft.”
Not only is it wrong, because Cowher had a huge hand in all those things while in Pttsburg, but it’s misleading. You make it sound like Cowher would be some one man show doing all those things when he wouldn’t. What he would do is bring his own guys over to do all those things. Proven guys that have been doing a great job with the Steelers for two decades now. Your scare tactics are not needed. Replacing Dom with his GM and replacing our shitty scouts with great scouts is not a bad thing.
Let me be clear, I think Rheem should get another year, but lets not make up negative garbage about Cowher just because we aren’t going to get him. It’s pretty freaking clear that he knows how to build and maintain a franchise.
December 30th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Joe, Chucky’s W-L record cannot be 5-4 if he’s been to the playoffs six times. He only has one ring, so he must have 5 losses.
December 30th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Totally agree, Joe. In fact, I think the Glazers could seal their fate, as owners of the Bucs, by signing Cowher. If Cowher fails, the Glazers will have so much tied up in Cowher and his cronies, they’ll lose ALL public support, while still paying Gruden, Morris and Dominik, a burden, IMO, they will NEVER get out from, until they sell the team.
December 30th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Joe STOP comparing Cowher to Gruden because Jon’s not the Bucs HC – it’s Radio Morris.
Let’s compare Cowher to Radio shall we?
Morris’s team winning percentage .250
Morris’s taking his team to playoffs 0.000
Morri’s Super Bowl appearances 0.000
It was a MISTAKE to replace Gruden with Morris in the first place. PERIOD.
So I guess you correct your first mistake but passing on Cowher? Two wrongs don’t make a right!
As for your snide, yes snide, remark about the Glazers wanting to sell NFC South Division Championship shirts would be far better then enduring the CRAP that the Bucs put out on the field this year.
DID YOU FORGET ABOUT THE GIANTS GAME?
DID YOU FORGET ABOUT THE SAINTS HOME GAME THUMPING 7-38?
DID YOU FORGET ABOUT THE JETS DRUBBING?
December 30th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Jhub:
Joe is not bringing up “negative garbage” about Cowher. Those are legitimate questions.
Cowher never had control of football operations in Pittsburgh. The Rooneys never have and never will do that. Cowher may have had influence but he never hand-picked front office types.
Not long ago Cowher did win a power struggle of sorts which led to Kevin Colbert being hired by the Steelers but the Rooneys never have nor ever will give a coach the final say in the football operations.
To this day there’s a significant segment of Steelers fans who are still dancing in the streets that Cowher left due to his many toe stubs in the playoffs, specifically AFC title games.
December 30th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Joe hasn’t seen Mr. Lucky this fired up since Josh Johnson was benched.
Or since Luke McCown was traded. 🙂
December 30th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Here’s the REAL question: Is Morris the answer?
Lets assume the Glazers keep Morris. What does that do to generate excitement for next season? Not much if you ask me. Even if the Bucs beat Atlanta, I don’t see a lot of people rushing out to buy season tickets.
It’s the Glazers team and their money, so they can do whatever they want. In fact, if the Bucs beat Atlanta to end the season on a good note, I’m not totally against them letting Morris stay. God help him though if Morris doesn’t win next year. The honeymoon is WAY over.
December 30th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Joe, Mr. Lucky is this fired up because a coach with the pedigree and proven track record of Cowher doesn’t come along every year.
Mr. Lucky is upset that Gruden was replaced with Morris.
Mr. Lucky is upset that Morris the puppet has more excuses for his team then Emelda Marcos had shoes
But what has Mr. Lucky fired up the most is that Raheem gets a free pass when he really hasn’t earned it.
If Raheem had been a DC for 1-2 years or had some other managerial experience dealing with OC/DC/GM etc., I would be more inclined to give him another year.
But with Cowher on the horizon if the Bucs don’t grab the brass ring then they’re stuck with the cowturd for another year.
If I had wanted that I’d have moved to Cleveland and rooted for the Browns – or bought season tickets to the Lightening.
December 30th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Joe, Dungy didn’t fail here.
He made the Bucs respectable, contenders.
Do you think Gruden could have won a championship without the groundwork that Dungy built?
December 30th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
If you gave Bugs Bunny 15 years with the Steelers as Head Coach, I bet he could get ONE Super Bowl win, and wouldn’t need the refs help to get it.
December 30th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Justin:
You mean like what Mike Tomlin did in Pittsburgh? 🙂
December 30th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
If Raheem had been a DC for 1-2 years or had some other managerial experience dealing with OC/DC/GM etc., I would be more inclined to give him another year.
forget dc he has head coach experience give him another year
this will be the best way to learn
December 30th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Mike wrote: “forget dc he has head coach experience give him another year this will be the best way to learn”
I agree Mike – let’s ship him to Detroit where he can learn there.
December 30th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
A well-tanned, scantily clad Rachel Watson.
December 30th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Joe, I was only talking about Dungy–I completely disagree that Dungy failed in Tampa.
Your statement means that a coach is not a success unless he wins the big game. If your interpretation were correct, then almost every coach in the NFL would be a failure, year after year!
December 30th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Cowher without LeBeau? More likely to be an average HC than a great one.
It is what it is – LeBeau is a defensive genius. Almost every time Cowher missed the playoffs was during the period when LeBeau had left the team.
So unless he’s bringing LeBeau with him (unlikely…), screw Cowher.