Bill Cowher called a lot of plays in his career. As Pittsburgh Steelers head coach from 1992-2006, there are plenty of favorites to choose from. But by far, his favorite call of his career helped him win an elusive Super Bowl ring.
In a video shared by the NFL on CBS, where Cowher has served as analyst for nearly two decades, Cowher said WR Antwaan Randle El’s touchdown pass to WR Hines Ward in Super Bowl XL still stands out for him.
“My single favorite play call. It was a Hoosier special. Pitch to Jerome [Bettis], pitch back to Antwaan Randle El. And he threw it to Hines Ward, who caught the touchdown in Super Bowl 40.”
The “Hoosier” nomenclature comes from Randle El’s college days. A quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers, he threw 42 touchdown passes before switching full-time to receiver when the Steelers drafted him in 2002.
Pittsburgh’s improbable Super Bowl run in 2005 was defined by trickery. In the Wild Card win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Randle El took a direct snap and threw back to QB Ben Roethlisberger, who found WR Cedrick Wilson for a 43-yard touchdown. In the Super Bowl, it was Randle El who put the ball in the end zone, a dime to Ward downfield for an identical 43-yard score.
Cowher told then-offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt not to hold back against the Seahawks.
“We practiced it for about two or three weeks,” Cowher said of the play. “And I just remember telling our coordinator in the fourth quarter, ‘Last time I looked, we’re not playing next week. So let’s not save anything. Let’s use everything we have in the bag.'”
With the Super Bowl win, all the pressure Cowher faced melted away. Before then, he was regarded as a good coach but one who couldn’t win the big game. He had lost his first Super Bowl to the Dallas Cowboys in the 90s and hadn’t been able to get back, dispatched by Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots time and time again. Cowher’s win cemented his spot into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For the Steelers’ franchise at large, it was the first time they hoisted a Lombardi since the 70s dynasty.
With the win, history was changed, and Pittsburgh became the first six-seed to win it all. Gutsy play calls like Randle El’s throw to Ward got them over the finish line.
