Bill Cowher’s attempt to rationalize the Steelers’ decision to hire Mike McCarthy as head coach goes in one ear and out the other
Bill Cowher seems to be missing the point regarding Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh.
Few people have the approval rating that Bill Cowher has in the city of Pittsburgh. A native Yinzer who brought the Pittsburgh Steelers a Super Bowl, he will forever be a legend in Western Pennsylvania.
However, shortly after Art Rooney and the Steelers brass decided to hire Mike McCarthy, Cowher spoke on behalf of the decision. Only, it’s safe to say that many fans won’t see eye-to-eye with Cowher’s opinion of the McCarthy hire.
Bill Cowher tries to rationalize the Mike McCarthy hire
“Well, I know that Art Rooney, Omar [Khan] and also Dan Jr., sat there and they did a very diligent look at what was out there. They did a lot of interviews, sat back, but also looked at their football team. And I really like this hire for this reason,” said Cowher of CBS Sports.
“Number one, he’s an offensive-minded guy in Mike McCarthy. Everywhere he has been. He grew up under Marty Schottenheimer, so he understands the value of running the football. He coached Joe Montana. He coached Brett Favre. He coached Aaron Rodgers. He coached Dak Prescott. Everywhere he’s been, he’s uplifted the offense.”
So here’s the problem. For one, you could argue that the Steelers failed to do their due diligence in their head coaching search. They held a grand total of three formal, in-person interviews. One with Brian Flores, one with Anthony Weaver, and one with Mike McCarthy.
They could have waited for the Rams season to end on Sunday night, as it did, and interviewed Chris Shula and or Nathan Scheelhaase, but they couldn’t help themselves.
And, as for Mike McCarthy’s role with quarterbacks, the only player Cowher listed who developed under McCarthy was Aaron Rodgers. Who, newsflash, in his prime, is arguably the greatest ball thrower of all time, meaning he didn’t exactly need a ton of help.
Bill Cowher believes Mike McCarthy brings consistency to Pittsburgh
“If you look at the Pittsburgh Steelers right now, if there’s been inconsistencies in the last recent years, it’s been the instability of having a reliable offense. They’ve got defensive guys that can sack the quarterback. They can create turnovers. So I like where they’re at. He also walks into that room with credibility, so I like what they did,” added Cowher.
“He’ll put together a good staff right here. Oh yeah, he’s from Pittsburgh too. That doesn’t make it bad. He knows the tradition. He knows what the expectation is. He knows what that fan base is all about. He’s a Yinzer. I think it’s a very good hire for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Time will tell if Bill Cowher, Art Rooney, Omar Khan, and the rest of the Steelers brass is right, and the vast majority of analysts and fans are wrong. Right now, we have about five years to find out, because if we know one thing about the Rooney family, they will not fire a coach before his contract is up.
Meaning, it’s going to be an intriguing half-decade in Pittsburgh.
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