Bill Cowher
Cowher in 2009 | |||||||||
| No. 53, 57 | |||||||||
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| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | May 8, 1957 Crafton, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Carlynton (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||
| College | NC State | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1979: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
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Coaching | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||
| Regular season | 149–90–1 (.623) | ||||||||
| Postseason | 12–9 (.571) | ||||||||
| Career | 161–99–1 (.619) | ||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||
William Laird Cowher (/ˈkaʊ.ər/; born May 8, 1957) is an American former professional football linebacker and coach who served as the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He began his coaching career as an assistant under Marty Schottenheimer for the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs, serving as the latter's defensive coordinator from 1989 to 1991. In 1992, Cowher was named head coach of the Steelers, a position he held until his retirement following the 2006 season. After retiring, Cowher joined The NFL Today as a studio analyst.
Under Cowher, the Steelers won eight division titles, two AFC Championship Games, and Super Bowl XL. Cowher's Super Bowl victory marked the first championship title for the franchise in over two decades and the first not to be won by Chuck Noll, his predecessor. The Steelers appeared in the postseason 10 times with Cowher, including six consecutive appearances from his 1992 hiring to 1997, which made him the second NFL head coach to reach the playoffs during each of his first six seasons after Paul Brown. Cowher was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.