There are only two people in the world alive who can say they were the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers: Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. With Tomlin offering only a written statement so far, it makes Cowher’s words all the more impactful. In the hours that followed the news that Tomlin would step down as the Steelers’ long-time head coach, Cowher summed up his thoughts on his successor’s tenure.
“I just found out about it just a very short while ago,” Cowher said on Sirius’ Movin’ the Chains podcast with Pat Miller and Jim Kirwan. “Listen, it’s a special place. Mike has done a fantastic job there. Integral part of that community.”
Hours earlier, before the news broke, Cowher acknowledged the need for Tomlin to soul-search and decide his future. Given how quickly the decision was announced, roughly 15 hours after the Steelers’ season concluded, Cowher believes Tomlin knew in advance this would be his outcome.
“He made a decision today, but I think he also probably had, probably made a decision prior to today. Make that kind of a quick decision like that without giving a lot of forethought. And I’m sure he has with [wife] Kiya and his family. I wish him nothing but the best. He’s been a tremendous head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The way he represented that organization.”
Cowher was in Tomlin’s shoes two decades ago. Like Chuck Noll before him and now Tomlin after, Cowher left on his own terms. He stepped down as head coach on January 5th, 2007. Cowher has often cited burnout, along with the ailing health of his late wife, as reasons why he walked away. Still, he made it clear that he had layered reasons for walking away.
“No single event triggered my decision,” he wrote in his 2021 book, Heart and Steel. “Everything in my life had been structured around football. And I was afraid. My fear was, the longer I stayed as Coach Cowher, with a life completely tailored to football, the more difficult it would be to ever experience a different type of life.”
In his book, Cowher expressed his gratitude for the ability to leave on his own terms. This is generally a rarity, especially in sports. Weeks later, Tomlin became his surprising replacement. On Tuesday afternoon, he followed Cowher’s path out of Pittsburgh.