Fire Bill Cowher Petition

[monstercat]

And if Foxy takes another job, he could go 0-16. What's your point here? We all know there are tons and tons of things that go into how successful a team and an organization actually is. But the bottom line about both Fox and Cowher is that they are both amazing coaches who know what the hell they're doing. But as with Cowher and the Steelers, and Fox here...it can go stale. Don't let the rich history of the Steelers blind you. Cowher CAN be a winner here, just as Fox CAN take us to a ring if he stays. I just think one has a better chance at doing so.

I guess the real question is...if Cowher does come here, switches this defense to a 3-4 and had 2-3 mediocre seasons, will you turn on him, or will you have some patience?

[Mother Grabber]

Fox was supported by most people on here until this year. He had 8 seasons to try to build us a winner, and has failed. Who ever comes in next will be given a fair chance.

[monstercat]

Fox was supported by most people on here until this year. He had 8 seasons to try to build us a winner, and has failed. Who ever comes in next will be given a fair chance.

I guess you missed all the fire fox thread that started about two years ago.

[2shy]

I have been amazed at how fickle and fairweather a lot of our fan base is, and how convinced so many people that not only would Bill Cowher bring multiple Super Bowl Championships to the Panthers, they believe Bill Cowher far exceeds anything John Fox has to bring to the table.

Bill Cowher is a great coach in his own rite, but I for one believe John Fox has both the ability and the control of this team to get back and win a Super Bowl if we stay the course.

First off, I respect what Cowher has done as a coach, and winning a Super Bowl is an acheivement no one can take away. Cowher is certainly a top 10 coach over the past 25 years. Over the 15 years he coached the Steelers, he was 149-90 (.623 overall winning percentage). He won 9 division titles, and his teams made the playoffs 10 out of the 15 years he coached.

From a regular season perspective, Cowher's numbers are superior to Fox's numbers (70-57 .544 overall winning percentage). However, I think it is both important and accurate to note that the Steelers played in the same division with Bengals, Browns, and Houston Oilers (before they relocated to be the Tennesse Titans) during Cowher's tenure from 1992-2006 (the Titans were moved to the AFC South with the realignment in 2002). These teams were pretty badly ran during this time, which artificially inflated the numbers some. In many ways, I liken it to the San Diego Chargers now getting 4 gimme wins against the Raiders and Chiefs to help them win division title year after year.

Ultimately, however, the best coaches are the ones who produce in the playoffs, because that is what produces Super Bowl rings. Cowher is 21-19 (.571) vs. Fox at 5-3 (.600) winning percentage in the playoffs.

The biggest compliant against Cowher was his "mediocracy," the same compliant I hear getting thrown around here so much. And there was some validity to the arguement. Cowher was good at getting to the playoffs, not winning in them for the longest time.

In fact, after the 2002 Season, disgruntled Steelers fans started an online petition that generated thousands of signatures to get rid of Cowher. The main compliants were mediocracy and Cowher sticking with Kordell Stewart at QB for too long (sound like anyone we know...)

The compliants reached a fevered pitch after Cowher received a contract extension in 2004...

PITTSBURGH (July 26, 2004) -- Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher signed a two-year contract extension that runs through 2007 -- the second time since 2001 he has agreed to a new deal after his team missed the playoffs the preceding season.

Check out a few of the comments... If you changed some of the names around it could easily pass as one of the threads on the Huddle.

http://www.gopetition.com/msg.php?msgid=73192&isearch=

Starts off with some compliants...

Reply: Re: Bill Cowher Petition

Created by Tim on Jan 25, 2005 05:24:15 GMT

Christ, two more years of mediocracy??? Are you content with that?? I've been a steelers fan since birth and I'm sure you'll say you are also. But unlike you I know when there is a problem and I do not have blind faith in a person who has done nothing for my team. 15 wins was great but where did he take us after that. Nowhere, he lost to a superior coach again. Reply: Re: Bill Cowher Petition

Created by Mark in Carnegie on Jan 25, 2005 09:18:14 GMT

Cowher is choker!! He can't prep his team for the big games! It's a disgrace Cowher teams are batting only .200 in AFC Championships.

The Rooneys won't get rid of him though cause he (mostly) has winning seasons and at least gets the to the dance most years. Too bad he leaves the Rooneys, and Stiller Fans as wall flowers at the dance!!

We'll there's always next year!!Reply: Re: Bill Cowher Petition

Created by rj on Jan 25, 2005 18:13:30 GMT

amen brother, fire bill cowher, he cannot win the big game... how much longer does the steel city have to endure the let downs

Before a Steelers fan steps in with the voice of reason...

Reply: Re: Bill Cowher Petition

Created by PittSteel69 on Apr 28, 2005 22:39:29 GMT

The last reply was on 1/25 so I have no idea if anyone is even checking this, however, I have a comment ... You folks are all idiots. Bill Cowher has proven himself time and time again, keeping each team competitive. Granted, he does have a tendancy to become complacent in the big game, but all in all, he is the only reason that you all have a chance to cheer each season. Someone mentioned all the talent on the team ... how do you think it got there? Personally, I would rather be disappointed and come close each year than to have myself a Cleveland year and be mathmatically out before the beginning of November. Trust me when I say, that is what we will be looking at if he goes. Look at this years draft,we are sitting pretty and have some outstanding players that will be here for years to come. Remember one other thing too ... all those coaches who have multiple SuperBowl wins had the luxury of being able to throw big bucks for the high profile players (Dallas is the perfect example) Where are they now ... they haven't had a truly descent run since that moron Switzer took Jimmie's team to the Bowl. Remember, anyone can win when you overstretch yourself into decades beyond. They have no money left. It wouldn't surprise me if Dallas is still paying Michael Irvin money. BILL COWHER does it every year with extremely tight purse strings. He is and always will be "The Man" One last thing ... last time I checked, the players on the field are the one's playing the game and executing the plan. Who really lost those games? O'Donnell throws an ill advised pick ... Roethlisberger (a rookie to boot) throws three ... did Bill do that or the guys on the field. A coach can only do so much ... after that, it's up to those who play the game.

Definitely some worthwhile food for thought, and it strengthens my belief Jerry Richardson is going down the right path, at least for the next year.

What would have become of the Steelers if they hadn't have kept the course with Bill Cowher? His best season was an 8-8 affair in his 14th Season in which they snuck into the playoffs before going on a tear and winning the Super Bowl.

None of us know what the final book on Fox will be, but if this organization wants to truly be like the Steelers (who by the way have 6 Rings), we need to stay the course with a coach who the players and management still believe in.

I completely understand being frustrated with Fox, but completely giving up on the guy makes about as much sense as giving up on Cowher in 2002 would have made.

[Davidson Deac II]

If you're a good coach, you're a good coach. Period. But to say one is better than the other because of the division they played in and the conference they played in sucked, is dumb.

Its not dumb to say that Cowher had a slightly easier road in his earlier years than Fox has.

Cowher was a good coach, no doubt about it. But the calls to fire him in Pittsburgh after 8 years were nearly as strong as they are in Carolina now. And the calls were very similar to what we are hearing now. To conservative, can't develope a quarterback, will not draft a QB. IMO, Cowher is not an improvement over Fox.

[Mr. Scot]

This thread reminded me that the same day Jack Del Rio was hired by the Jags, the website www.firedelrio.com went online.

(no idea if it's still active, but I wouldn't be surprised)

I'm told by someone from the area that Florida loves "fire the coach" websites. Don't know if it's true.

[PantherDude]

I'm in the camp that wants a breath of fresh air from a good coach. You'll get that with Cowher.

Are you saying only Cowher can do that & no other coaches can? Sorry, but Cowher may not be the answer. I'm sure other can be. Who know. Just saying he isn't the savior like many of his blind followers are thinking. They always keep saying "Hire Cowher! Hire Cowher!". I bet if he didn't live in NC, many wouldn't bring this up. Marty live in NC as well & I'm sure many want him too.

Again, I'm not knocking Fox AT ALL. I just think we can obtain the same amount of success with Cowher.

Then why get rid of Fox & bring Cowher if you say he can obtain the same success as Fox?

But I think having a fresh face (and by fresh, I mean "not Fox", not "some young scrub") can give us an extra push.

At least I can agree with you on that.

[Mother Grabber]

I guess you missed all the fire fox thread that started about two years ago.

I said most people have supported Fox. There's always going to be people calling for a coaches head. I'll bet if you go onto the Chargers board, you'll see threads about firing Norv EFFIN Turner, even though he's the best coach in the league.

In 2008, we started off with a strong win and then kept on winning. Even though many of those were not quite as convincing, winning is a powerful drug and most people were happy. Before that, most of the hostilities were directed towards the players (Foster's a bum, Colbert's a bum, Carter's a bum) and the coordinators (Henning's a bum, Trgo's a bum, etc.). We have a great group of players now, so most of those threads have died off...except Jake, of course. Even the Davidson and Meeks threads have disappeared, and almost all of the flame is pointed right at Fox. Yes there are still threads about other members of the organization, but this year the vast majority of people are complaining about Fox.

Unfortunately, our problem still goes one step higher. Big Pussy is sitting on top of this giant pile of poo that he's created. If he fires Fox, which he didn't, he'd just bring in Fox 2.0. They didn't fire Trgo, they aren't firing Fox, they hold onto players for too long. The culture of the team isn't to be proactive and solve problems. It's to stay the course and hope our problems just go away. Meanwhile, those who play for or care for the team suffer.