Cowher to Fins?

[BeeR]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8237..._content_stream

 

If Irsay has any brain cells at all he would beat em to the punch sooner or later.

[kpholmes]

Everything I've read says that Ross wants a high profile, Superbowl winning head coach.

 

That leaves Cowher, Dungy, Gruden and Billick.

 

Dungy isn't interested in jumping back in, and Billick isn't high profile. So that leaves Cowher and Gruden for the Fins and Colts to fight over.

 

Side Note: How great of a story would it be for Gruden to replace Dungy with two different franchises?

[Jackass]

seems to make sense.

[gsmayes]

No big name coach will go anywhere near Miami unless they get the #1 pick.

Edited October 27, 2011 by gsmayes

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

The Chin was supposed to replace Chilly last year.

[overworkedirish]

Happy with any change at the helm, as long as it happens AFTER Sparano drives this team into the ground far enough to snag Luck. THEN fire him and goad Luck with a better coaching situation.

[Sunday Couch Potatoe]

Happy with any change at the helm, as long as it happens AFTER Sparano drives this team into the ground far enough to snag Luck. THEN fire him and goad Luck with a better coaching situation.

Once again the fins get the #1 pick Luck tries his Luck another year at Stanford..... Mark it down!!

Edited October 27, 2011 by Sunday Couch Potatoe

[Avernus]

if this does happen, then I'm pretty sure I'll be doing two of the following things....

 

 

he should be coming here ....

[caddyman]

if this does happen, then I'm pretty sure I'll be doing two of the following things....

 

 

he should be coming here ....

Dude...he is not the savior. Without the Rooneys and Dick LeBeau...he will be a good coach...not great. He won't get you any farther than Andy. He would bring the Fins back to Respectabilty....but he won't have them back on top anytime soon. I actually doubt he wants to coach in that division. He has no clue how to beat the Pats.

[Zooty]

Dude...he is not the savior. Without the Rooneys and Dick LeBeau...he will be a good coach...not great. He won't get you any farther than Andy. He would bring the Fins back to Respectabilty....but he won't have them back on top anytime soon. I actually doubt he wants to coach in that division. He has no clue how to beat the Pats.

 

I actually agree with you...

[overworkedirish]

Dude...he is not the savior. Without the Rooneys and Dick LeBeau...he will be a good coach...not great. He won't get you any farther than Andy. He would bring the Fins back to Respectabilty....but he won't have them back on top anytime soon. I actually doubt he wants to coach in that division. He has no clue how to beat the Pats.

I will take respectable over whatever this is. This historic franchise has a black eye the size of Hurricane Irene and it's hard to watch.

[Avernus]

Dude...he is not the savior. Without the Rooneys and Dick LeBeau...he will be a good coach...not great. He won't get you any farther than Andy. He would bring the Fins back to Respectabilty....but he won't have them back on top anytime soon. I actually doubt he wants to coach in that division. He has no clue how to beat the Pats.

 

 

he'll bring players who want to play for him and will change the point of view of the front office about having good LB's..he would be a much greater addition and would be better suited at picking his coaching staff than Reid is and with that Cowher makes us better immediately..

[Chief Dick]

I've heard that Cowher won't go anywhere that does not have a franchise type QB in place. So for him to go to Miami, they would have to be in a position to draft Luck.

[boltnlava]

I've heard that Cowher won't go anywhere that does not have a franchise type QB in place. So for him to go to Miami, they would have to be in a position to draft Luck.

 

So...San Diego then. lol. I wish. *Sigh*

[Chargerz]

So...San Diego then. lol. I wish. *Sigh*

+1

[tazinib1]

So...San Diego then. lol. I wish. *Sigh*

 

A few years to late but I'll take it!!!!

[caddyman]

he'll bring players who want to play for him and will change the point of view of the front office about having good LB's..he would be a much greater addition and would be better suited at picking his coaching staff than Reid is and with that Cowher makes us better immediately..

Sorry...you are wrong on this one. Dead wrong. I watched this guy closely for years. He brought in almost no players. The only player that was even a factor that was not a draft pick was Farrior. So I have no idea where you came up with that. Picking his coaching staff? LeBeau? How hard is that? I have not even mentioned the numerous seasons he pissed away. Frankly, you would be getting an Andy Reid clone. The only difference between them is that Cowher was lucky enough to run into one of the weaker Super Bowl opponents in history. No Seattle, no championship. If his Super Bowl was against the Pats...he would have no rings.

[boltnlava]

Sorry...you are wrong on this one. Dead wrong. I watched this guy closely for years. He brought in almost no players. The only player that was even a factor that was not a draft pick was Farrior. So I have no idea where you came up with that. Picking his coaching staff? LeBeau? How hard is that? I have not even mentioned the numerous seasons he pissed away. Frankly, you would be getting an Andy Reid clone. The only difference between them is that Cowher was lucky enough to run into one of the weaker Super Bowl opponents in history. No Seattle, no championship. If his Super Bowl was against the Pats...he would have no rings.

 

Yeah except Norv still would've found a way to lose it.

[caddyman]

Yeah except Norv still would've found a way to lose it.

True...Norv is a whole different discussion. At least with Marty you guys thought you had a real chance at a title. Now with Norv...sorry. The thing about Cowher is that he is a good, but not great coach. See below for a long but very interesting ex[planation...

 

In the Cowher Era postseason, Pittsburgh is:

•2-7 against division winners

•6-2 against wild-card teams

•1-9 against teams that went 11-5 or better in the regular season

•7-0 against teams that went 10-6 or 9-7 in the regular season

Under Cowher, the Steelers have NEVER won a playoff game against a team that won its division and had a record of 11-5 or better.

 

Pittsburgh's last win over a division champion came back in 1997, when the Steelers squeezed out a 7-6 win at home against 10-6 AFC East champ New England. Its only other postseason victory over a division-winning team came against 10-6 AFC East champ Buffalo in 1995. Pittsburgh's three postseason wins since 1997 have come against wild-card teams. Its three postseason losses since 1997 have come against division champions.

 

Pittsburgh's lone postseason victory against a team 11-5 or better came back in 1994, when it beat Bill Belichick's wild-card 11-5 Cleveland team, 29-9, in the divisional round. (For all his postseason failures, Cowher remains the only coach to beat Belichick during the New England coach's NFL-record 10-1 postseason run.)

 

Still, that victory was 11 years ago. If you can't beat 11-5 teams, you simply don't belong in the playoffs. For some more perspective, New England's nine postseason victories in its recent Super Bowl run include seven victories over teams that went 12-4 or better.

 

So why are Pittsburgh teams that appear so dominant in the regular season unable to pull it all together in the postseason? We dug into our Gojo jug of gridiron analysis, spit-polished the NFL record books, and uncovered two reasons.

 

1) A lack of balance

Cowher may enjoy piecing together teams that define the term "smashmouth." It's certainly a pleasure for football fans to watch. What blood-thirsty, testosterone-fueled football fan doesn't get a little chubby watching his team physically pound another into the turf? It's a form of football we learned to admire – and aspire to – playing on Pop Warner and high school teams.

 

Unfortunately, it just doesn't cut it in the NFL, where the Cold, Hard Football Facts have taught us that proficiency in many areas is more important than dominance in a few. With few exceptions, the Steelers have been proficient offensively only in the running game.

 

Playoff Year Rush Yards (Rank) Pass Yards (Rank)

1992 2,156 (4) 3,046 (22)

1993 2,003 (6) 3,606 (10)

1994 2,180 (1) 3,247 (22)

1995 1,853 (12) 4,093 (9)

1996 2,299 (2) 2,990 (30)

1997 2,479 (1) 3,215 (23)

2001 2,774 (1) 3,295 (22)

2002 2,120 (9) 4,036 (8)

2004 2,464 (2) 2,970 (28)

 

 

Notice something about Pittsburgh's lowest-ranked rushing team, the one Pittsburgh playoff team over this period that failed to rush for more than 2,000 yards yet did pass for more than 4,000 yards? Sure you do. The 1995 squad is the one Pittsburgh team that's made the Super Bowl in the Cowher Era.

 

When the Steelers find themselves up against high-quality defenses in the postseason – teams that can shut down the running game or at least make it work harder for its yards – they typically can't make up for it with a successful passing attack. Put most simply, playoff-caliber defenses stack up against the run and Pittsburgh's passing attack has not been good enough to overcome this strategy when it has encountered high-quality teams.

 

The Cold, Hard Football Facts surrounding Pittsburgh's postseason passing attack have been like a painful colonoscopy inserted into the rectum of Steelers fans using our grainy friend Gojo as a lubricant.

 

1994 AFC title game – In a 17-13 loss to San Diego, Pittsburgh's leading ballcarrier, Barry Foster, picked up just 47 yards on 20 carries. With his top-ranked rushing attack stifled, O'Donnell was forced to pass 54 times. The Pittsburgh offense found its way into the end zone just once and lost, 17-13.

 

1995 Super Bowl – In a 27-17 loss to Dallas, Pittsburgh's top two ballcarriers, Erric Pegram and Bam Morris, were held to just 88 yards on 25 carries. With his twelfth-ranked rushing attack stifled, O'Donnell famously tossed two INTs to wide open defensive back Larry Brown, who set up easy touchdowns for the Dallas offense while earning MVP honors in the process.

 

1996 divisional playoffs – In a 28-3 loss to New England, Pittsburgh's leading ballcarrier, Jerome Bettis, was held to 43 yards on 13 carries. With their second-ranked rushing attack stifled, quarterbacks Tomczak and Stewart combined for a spectacularly unproductive 16 of 39 for 110 yards with two INTs.

 

1997 AFC title game – In a 24-21 loss to Denver, Pittsburgh's leading ballcarrier, Bettis, gave the Steelers a potentially winning performance with 105 yards on 23 carries. But against a champion-caliber defense, Stewart completed just 18 of 36 passes for 201 yards with 1 TD and 3 INTs.

 

2001 AFC title game – In a 24-17 loss to New England, Pittsburgh's leading rusher, Bettis, was held to a humiliating 8 yards on 9 carries. With his top-ranked rushing attack stifled, Stewart completed just 24 of 42 passes for 255 yards with 0 TDs and 3 INTs, including one each on Pittsburgh's final two desperation drives.

 

2004 AFC title game – In a 41-27 loss to New England, Pittsburgh's leading rusher, Bettis was held to 64 yards on 17 carries. With his second-ranked rushing attack stifled, Roethlisberger had his worst game of his previously unbeaten rookie season. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 226 yards and 2 TDs, but tossed three INTs, including one that was returned nearly 100 yards by Rodney Harrison for a back-breaking TD at the end of the first half.

 

Put most simply, Pittsburgh can't win because it can't pass against good teams. After nine seasons of postseason futility – with virtually every loss a repeat of the previous one – you would think Cowher would change his philosophy. He has not.

 

Pittsburgh may have found its man in Roethlisberger, who has been virtually flawless in 2005 and remains unbeaten through his first 16 regular-season starts in the NFL. However, he's tossed the ball just 32 times in Pittsburgh's two victories this season.

 

There is a model for this type of team. In Super Bowl VII, Bob Griese completed 8 of 11 passes for 88 yards as he guided the undefeated Dolphins to a 14-7 win over Washington. The following year, in Super Bowl VIII, Griese completed 6 of 7 passes for 73 yards as the Dolphins ran the ball 54 times in a 24-7 win over Minnesota.

 

Of course, that was more than 30 years ago – a virtual offensive Stone Age by modern NFL standards. A lot has changed in the NFL since then. For example, the NFL has liberalized its passing rules several times since 1973. (And, of course, Larry Csonka retired in 1978.) Someone should alert Cowher of these changes. The nine copycat losses certainly haven't registered with him yet.

 

2) Weak competition

As any student of the Cold, Hard Football Facts quality wins quotient has learned, teams that generate great periods of success – whether it's a regular season win streak or a multi-year period of dominance – can typically find the reason for the streak in the quality of the competition. Teams that face weak schedules win frequently. Teams that face strong schedules lose frequently.

 

Pittsburgh has reeled off 10 playoff seasons (including nine division winners) during a period in which its division has routinely been among the very worst in football.

 

In the 10 seasons from 1992 to 2001, when Pittsburgh played in the old AFC Central, its division rivals combined for a mere 10 postseason appearances.

 

Only two teams competed against Pittsburgh from 1992 to 2001 in the old AFC Central and then again for all three years of the realigned AFC North (which was created in 2002): the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati has not fielded a single winning team in the Cowher Era. These two franchises over this 13-year period have combined for just five winning seasons and four postseason appearances.

 

The new Cleveland franchise, meanwhile, rejoined the AFC Central in 1999 and moved to the AFC North with Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Cleveland/Baltimore in 2002. The new Cleveland franchise has fielded just one playoff team since 1999.

 

This means that Cincinnati, Cleveland and Cleveland/Baltimore have a combined 32 seasons worth of competing against Pittsburgh in the Cowher Era (13 each for Cincy and Cleveland/Baltimore, and six for Cleveland). Given these 32 opportunities, these three franchises – Pittsburgh's chief rivals in the Cowher era – have combined for just six winning seasons and five postseason appearances.

 

Pittsburgh was also a great beneficiary of realignment, which took away its two most successful rivals and plopped them down in the new AFC South. In the Cowher Era AFC Central (1992-2001), Jacksonville fielded four playoff teams while the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans boasted three postseason qualifiers. Over the same period, Cincy, Cleveland and Baltimore/Cleveland combined to send just three teams to the playoffs.

 

Basically, the Steelers have had the good fortune of being able to beat up on a second-rate division. Steelers fans may not like the assessment, but it's one that's certainly justified by Pittsburgh's inability to beat high quality teams in the postseason.

 

A look again at Pittsburgh's lone Super Bowl team in the Cowher Era provides proof yet again that the Cold, Hard Football Facts are indisputable. The 1995 Steelers boasted more than just a balanced offensive attack, the kind typically necessary for Super Bowl success. The 1995 Steelers also had one of the easiest roads to the championship game in Super Bowl history.

 

In the 1995 divisional round, Pittsburgh beat a 10-6 Buffalo squad. They followed that performance with their lone Cowher Era victory in an AFC title game. Of course, that AFC title game victory came at the expense of an upstart Indy team that went just 9-7 in 1995 (it was a hard-fought 20-16 contest that ended with Indy knocking on Pittsburgh's end zone). In the divisional round, the Colts had upset 13-3 Kansas City, knocking out the AFC's No. 1 seed and Pittsburgh's top contender for the conference title. The Chiefs, of course, remain the only team in recent years that can compete with Pittsburgh for postseason futility.

 

An assessment of Kansas City may follow in the future. For now, though, the reasons for Pittsburgh's regular-season success and postseason failures are obvious when we use our Gojo mojo to clean up the filth of opinion and replace it with crystal clean Cold, Hard Football Facts.

 

Pittsburgh fails to win in the postseason because: 1) its weak regular-season competition gives the Steelers a false sense of superiority, and 2) Cowher hijacks his team's hopes with his stubborn insistence on sticking with his well-proven formula for failure. It's a formula that once worked – back in the NFL Stone Age.

[SheHate Me]

TLDR

 

~SheHate Me