why is Bill Cowher the answer to our problems?

[Fiz]

He would be too conservative.:shocked:

are you fuging kidding me?

do you have any idea how awesome the power I would be with stewart and deangelo?

[Fiz]

im kidding of course

[Fiz]

or am i??!?!?!?!?!

[joethoma]

John Fox's teams play hard for him, even in December when the playoffs are out or seemingly out of reach (2004, 2007). That is why I think he still can lead the team effectively.

That being said, great coaches need to produce consistently, something John Fox has not. I think he is a good coach, and would be somewhere else if we let him go.

Still, though, making the playoffs again in 2009 should be an expectation. If not, then maybe it's time for something new. 8 years is a long time for an NFL coach as it currently is. That speaks that John Fox is better than a lot.

Bill Cowher may be that guy should John Fox not. But I think until we see how next year plays out, it's too early to say. A 12-4 record should at the very least earn him another year to prove it.

Fox's contract runs out after next year (I think) and none of the assistants have been retained beyond that as well. I think management probably feels somewhere along these lines too.

[Port City Cat Fan]

John Fox's teams play hard for him, even in December when the playoffs are out or seemingly out of reach (2004, 2007). That is why I think he still can lead the team effectively.

That being said, great coaches need to produce consistently, something John Fox has not. I think he is a good coach, and would be somewhere else if we let him go.

Still, though, making the playoffs again in 2009 should be an expectation. If not, then maybe it's time for something new. 8 years is a long time for an NFL coach as it currently is. That speaks that John Fox is better than a lot.

Bill Cowher may be that guy should John Fox not. But I think until we see how next year plays out, it's too early to say. A 12-4 record should at the very least earn him another year to prove it.

Fox's contract runs out after next year (I think) and none of the assistants have been retained beyond that as well. I think management probably feels somewhere along these lines too.

i still say, turgo first. see what happens.

[Wanderlai]

My thing is that in the NFL you have to strike while the iron is hot. Every year since the Superbowl run, its been give Fox one more year. When the seasons schedule is soft, we have a good record and make the playoffs when the seasons schedule is tough we don't make the playoffs. Thats what seems to happen every other year. Fox is still living, in Charlotte and in NFL circles, off the Superbowl run when we had a monster front 4. Thats long gone now. Instead of having enough talent to win the games on their own, we now need a masterful coach who can inspire and scheme our way through tough games. We all know the Panthers are known as the Cardiac Cats and thats due to us always being in close games. How many times have we lost to "lesser" teams? How many times have we all thought WTF kind of plays are they calling? How many times have we laid an egg in games with the team not even showing up? How many times have we built a lead only to turn ultra conservative and let the team back in the gams? Far too many for my taste.

Fox is good enough to keep the Panthers from becoming the Lions, Bengals, or the Raiders but he isnt good enough to turn Carolina into the Patriots, Steelers, or Colts. IMO Cowher can get us there, Fox can't.

[Port City Cat Fan]

My thing is that in the NFL you have to strike while the iron is hot. Every year since the Superbowl run, its been give Fox one more year. When the seasons schedule is soft, we have a good record and make the playoffs when the seasons schedule is tough we don't make the playoffs. Thats what seems to happen every other year. Fox is still living, in Charlotte and in NFL circles, off the Superbowl run when we had a monster front 4. Thats long gone now. Instead of having enough talent to win the games on their own, we now need a masterful coach who can inspire and scheme our way through tough games. We all know the Panthers are known as the Cardiac Cats and thats due to us always being in close games. How many times have we lost to "lesser" teams? How many times have we all thought WTF kind of plays are they calling? How many times have we laid an egg in games with the team not even showing up? How many times have we built a lead only to turn ultra conservative and let the team back in the gams? Far too many for my taste.

Fox is good enough to keep the Panthers from becoming the Lions, Bengals, or the Raiders but he isnt good enough to turn Carolina into the Patriots, Steelers, or Colts. IMO Cowher can get us there, Fox can't.

if we let fox go, teams will be trying to get him quick. that says a lot.

i like cowher, i have even met him in person, nice guy. we just need to be careful. yeah bill is there, would he take it? who knows. chances are good he would. we just need to think it through.

[top dawg]

The obvious answer is that Cowher has won a ring (and was a stupid interception away from winning another).

Like others have alluded to, Cowher is a proven and respected leader by anyone that knows anything about football. He is beloved by players and coaches alike. He is an emotional leader as well, who is very supportive, but not afraid to get in your face when you are not giving 100 percent. He is an effective leader.

He is supportive, tough,always seems to be in control, and knows what the hell he is doing at all times. Not only is he an excellent planner for a game, he also is flexible enough to make adjustments to his game plan when warranted. He is conservative, yet creative and dynamic in his play calling (e.g. the surprising, and successful, onside kick in his first Super Bowl).

In short, he's the kind of guy you want on your side all of the time, and would hate to face all of the time.

[Wanderlai]

If its known that Cowher wont take the Carolina job then I say we keep Fox for another year. I realize Fox would get another HC job somewhere else but I wouldnt let that determine if we fire him or not. Thats like saying you won't dump your GF because she will just go fug someone else. Well yeah, if "they" are attractive to someone else then it going to happen. Fox is the ultimate good guy. He is the Anti-Gruden.

[Port City Cat Fan]

Thats like saying you won't dump your GF because she will just go f*ck someone else.

NICE!!

Lol... that was a good one. but you understand what i mean.

[pantherclaw]

I'm prolly as big of fan of Cowher as anybody. (doubt yall will believe me).

Steelers have always been my favorite AFC team. (been watching pro football since I was 3 years old ~ basically as long as I can remember!).

Cowher was a highly successive HC. That being said, it took him forever to get the right formula together to win a NFL championship. And it's not all on the HC. Took him well over a decade. Not only that, but the transition to 3-4 isn't easy. Since we have to redo our dline anyways, we're prolly closer to doing it, than ever before....but I know we won't play 3-4 as long as John Fox is our head coach, and I'm also fine with that.

[Mr. Scot]

Howard Balzer had a pretty good take on this.

Two years since Cowher's last season (one in which his record sucked) and the Steelers are back in the Super Bowl. Last year they were in the playoffs.

So is Mike Tomlin just an amazing coaching hire?

Or...

Is it that the Steelers have great personnel people, a solid system and a culture of winning that is so fine tuned that a young coach can just step in, work the system that's in place, and be successful?

As evidence for the latter, Balzer submitted that all of Mike Tomlin's defensive background is in a 4-3, Cover 2 style defense.

Do the Steelers run a 4-3 cover 2?

Nope. They run a 3-4, blitz heavy defense. The man in charge of it, Dick LeBeau, has been doing this sort of thing since before Tomlin was even in college.

So with that in mind, how good is Cowher really? He's certainly a charismatic guy, and that draws people. But outside of that Steeler system, would he really be the coaching god that people think he is?

Or would he be the new George Seifert?

It's a point definitely worth considering.

[top dawg]

All I got to say is when Cowher comes back, and when he is successful, many people who have questioned his coaching ability will be sitting at their tables for a seven course meal of crow.

[Mr. Scot]

All I got to say is when Cowher comes back, and when he is successful, many people who have questioned his coaching ability will be sitting at their tables for a seven course meal of crow.

Cowher might come back and be successful, but there are plenty of stories of coaches who were a success with one franchise having mediocre second careers in a different setting. George Seifert is definitely not the only example.

If Cowher truly does want to come back and be a success, the one idea I think he should abandon is the "total control" bit. In today's league, pretty much nobody has had success in that particular dual role. Other guys who started on that path only found success after giving up one title or the other.

(there's just too much for one man to effectively handle)